The report of the investigation over the Norway-Malta Euro 2007 qualifier which ended in a 4-0 win for Norway is now in the hands of UEFA.

MFA President Norman Darmanin Demajo told a news conference yesterday that the MFA and police investigations had been concluded and a 500-page report has now been sent to the European body to make its own conclusions.

Darmanin Demajo made it clear that it was UEFA who will be issuing any possible sanctions, simply because the match in question was one of those normally held under its jurisdiction.

He said UEFA had thanked the MFA and the local authorities for their contribution and it was UEFA’s Disciplinary and Control Body which will continue dealing with the case, which the MFA hopes, would be concluded soon.

Darmanin Demajo explained that it had been a very difficult case to investigate. He said: “First of all, it was just one of a series of matches implicated by the German police at Bochum. But only a mention had been made of this particular match involving the Maltese national team. There were only a few lines about the match in question. Moreover, it had been played on foreign soil.

“It took around three months to hold the interrogations required. The players, even those who did not play, and the technical staff that accompanied the team, had been interrogated at length. The number could reach around 30 if one includes a number of persons who did not travel to Norway for the match, but could have also been involved indirectly. A 500-page dossier had been completed by early March. We wanted to hear everyone,” he said.

Darmanin Demajo revealed that around Christmas, the MFA had talks with some UEFA top officials who confirmed that the case would proceed before their Disciplinary and Control Board. “Then, they asked for the information so that they could proceed and we have now handed it over to them,” he added.

The MFA president said earlier that the allegations about the said game had been made about a year ago. “We quickly referred the case to the police, but little could be done before we knew what was being said in Bochum, Germany, where investigations over a series of matches were being held. In September we sent our Integrity Officer, Frans Tabone, to UEFA. Following his talks there, we managed to get the transcript in the German language the following month. Then we could start the proper investigation,”added Darmanin Demajo.

The MFA President went on to say that such cases were delicate. He added: “We have had to go through a lot of hard work to get to the truth. We even asked to be present for the interrogations in Bochum as it was important for us to compile all the evidence. I believe the MFA has acted with great responsibility in this case. It is with great relief that we have finally concluded our investigation. We now have no more power. The whole issue is now beyond our control.”

Without mentioning any names and without saying how many persons are implicated in the dossier, Darmanin Demajo said: “There were four players named during the allegations, although we know that only one person was mentioned in the transcript. We obviously have to wait for the conclusions to be reached by UEFA. Only then we will know the exact number of persons implicated. I have not seen the report, but I can confirm we have taken all the measures requested of us. We only hope that sporting justice is made.”

The MFA president also revealed that certain mistakes had been made during the investigation. “In fact, had we named someone, there would have been a gross injustice. In fact, it was only a few weeks ago - through a photo identification - that everything became clear to us,” he said.

Darmanin Demajo appealed to all players to decide on taking the best way to play football - for their own sake and in the interest of their families. “Everyone should be aware of their responsibilities. Those who are not ready to accept to play football the right way must be aware that they have to face the consequences,” he added.

The MFA boss hoped that this black cloud over Maltese football will soon pass. “Then we hope to get back to the real values of this sport which remains the number one favourite of the local sporting fraternity,” he said.

He went on to say that he suspected that Maltese football was under a great threat. He added: “This is only my opinion, however. We have learned a lot during the last 10 months. It has been a sort of wake-up call. And we have to be on the alert as some gangs might be infiltrating our football even at the domestic levels. We have to make a serious plan to combat this threat. We must do everything to protect the game which we all love - for us this was quite a blow from the blue.”

When asked why no suspensions on suspected players had been issued, Darmanin Demajo said he felt that it was not right to implicate anyone or impose penalties before that person/persons are declared guilty. “What my predecessors did was not my responsibility. In any case, I do not agree. After all, in such cases, one has to be very careful before taking important decisions,” he added.

The MFA boss thanked Frans Tabone and Adrian Camilleri for working full time on this issue.