Marsaxlokk FC lawyer Dr Ian Spiteri Bailey yesterday attacked the system used by the Board to Investigate Corrupt Practices of the MFA to make their conclusions on the alleged corruption case.

Marsaxlokk were last week found guilty by the same Board of having a former committee member, Peter Hartshorne, involved in a bribery case in connection with the Marsaxlokk-Msida football match last year and were demoted to the First Division.

Dr Spiteri Bailey, who is defending the case for Marsaxlokk, told the press yesterday that the club was insisting that it had nothing to do with the corruption involved. “The club has been charged and penalised because of the behaviour of one of its committee members, who is now suspended for life from all football activities,” he said.

Dr Spiteri Bailey said he wanted to make it clear that Marsaxlokk FC is against all anti-sporting acts including corruption and maintained that the club was, is and will remain clean.

He added, however, that the club felt their rights had not been fully respected by the Board. “I believe there is still a lot in connection with this case which still has to come out. So far, not everything has emerged since not all witnesses have been heard. We want justice to be done with everyone,” he said.

And he added: “Even in the criminal courts, the defence’s rights are respected fully. It is shameful that, in our opinion, the club’s rights had been touched upon because of the incorrect MFA rules.

“Above all, we say that the Board was not right in saying it was autonomous. They acted in different capacities. It was they who did everything in this case from start to finish – they acted as the investigator, the prosecutor and the judge. In my opinion, this was a mistake, especially when the Board said in its final verdict that they were bound by the rules of the MFA. Therefore how could they say it (the Board) was autonomous from the MFA?” he asked.

Dr Spiteri Bailey said the whole procedure was incorrect and unfair. “I have no doubt on the integrity of the members of the Board, but we seriously doubt their function on such a board.

The lawyer went on to describe how the club found certain obstacles in trying to prove they were not guilty. “For example, in the preliminary exemptions, the Board had to take a certain decision on the testimony of Inspector Angelo Gafa – whether to approve the Court testimony or not. Yet, they only came out with their decision in their final judgment. And this meant that Marsaxlokk were not given the opportunity to question Mr Gafa who, in my, opinion, still has to answer a number of questions. I have never heard the testimony of Mr Gafa. I wanted him as my witness in the case. Yet he never testified before the Board when I was present. This is just one reason why I insist on saying that the truth still has to come out,” he said.

He also mentioned as a fact the presence of the same Inspector Gafa at the UEFA club football draws in Nyon, Switzerland. “Valletta FC president Victor Sciriha confirmed to the Board that Inspector Gafa was there accompanying the representatives of the four clubs, that is, Valletta, Birkirkara, Sliema and Hibernians. Marsaxlokk FC is informed that he had been given an accreditation in the name of Birkirkara FC. For two whole days he was in the company of these club delegates. In my opinion, this should never have happened, considering that Mr Gafa is the only person in the Police Corps investigating around 33 other corruption cases in Maltese football, among them the Valletta-Msida match and at least another match involving Hibernians,” added Dr Spiteri Bailey.

He went on to say that in his testimony, Dr Peter Fenech, an MFA vice-president, was asked whether he knew about Gafa’s presence with the four clubs in Nyon. Dr Fenech had answered that the MFA was not certain that Inspector Gafa was in Nyon for the draws, although he admitted the association has received some unofficial information.

Dr Spiteri Bailey appealed to all the other clubs to do something. “What guarantee do we have that he (Gafa) is treating everybody in the same manner? And what has the MFA done? We know that when Gafa witnessed in front of the Board (not in my presence), no mention of such an incident was made. We asked him three times to give his testimony in our presence, but he never gave us that chance to reply to our questions, which therefore, remain unanswered,” he said.

Near the end of his 50-minute address, Dr Spiteri Bailey appealed to the MFA to take all the necessary measures which it deems fit to see that the truth comes out from this case.

He said he expected the association to see what had happened about the said Valletta-Msida match – one of 33 mentioned by the lawyer which are still under investigation.

He also appealed to the MFA to take the necessary steps against Msida SJ president Robert Farrugia who had passed certain remarks about Marsaxlokk FC.

He also made a reference to a banner near the place where the news conference was held. It read: ‘Tal-Lampuki fil-1st ix-Sharks fil-Premier’ – (Tal-Lampuki in the first division and the Sharks in the Premier League).

Marsaxlokk president Robert Micallef also addressed the conference insisting that his club was not corrupt.

He added: “I think an injustice has been made with our club and we will not accept it. We are sure that corruption in local football has always existed. If there is a need to continue our fight against corruption, I will be the first one to cooperate.”

He also explained how he had lost confidence in the four Premier representatives in the MFA Executive committee. “On one day, they voted unanimously to have the league played by nine or eventually eight clubs. The next day, they voted against their own decision with the result that the league is now being played by 10 clubs.

“Moreover, we insist on our appeal to have the league remaining suspended till the appeals and possible Arbitration cases (of Marsaxlokk and Vittoriosa) are over,” he said

He also appealed to all the clubs to vote in the best interests of the game of football, not through emotion.

At the end, he assured all the Marsaxlokk FC clan that he was categorically denying reports that he would be resigning. “I will remain Marsaxlokk FC president, whatever happens. I will emerge stronger from the ordeal,” he reassured everyone.