Valletta footballer and former international player Gilbert Agius was acquitted of injuring an under-19 St Patrick’s footballer with a bottle, in a game that ended in a draw.

Mr Agius, 39, who resides in Birkirkara and coaches the Valletta under-19 football team, was found not guilty of committing the alleged crime on 18 April, at the Centenary Stadium. He was said to have hit the player with a bottle and caused him slight injuries. He was also acquitted of charges related to breaching public peace and abusive behaviour.

It is believed the incident took place when footballer Josmar Farrugia was celebrating near Mr Agius, kissing his team’s coat of arms displayed on his t-shirt and pandemonium resulted.

While the court said it was true that Mr Farrugia was injured, it did not confirm that Mr Agius had injured him.

Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera said the prosecution did not bring the necessary evidence to prove the case and should have brought more players to testify. It was also duty bound to investigate the case rather than base it on testimony.

All witnesses testified that there were many players fighting in the ground and the court noted, the police should have brought witnesses testifying in favour and against the accused. It should also have spoken to more players to understand exactly what had happened.

Only goalkeeper Josmar Farrugia, Ian Grech and Samwel Buhagiar said Gilbert Agius hit Mr Farrugia while the other witnesses said they did not see anything.

Mr Farrugia, Mr Grech and Mr Buhagiar said in court that they had sought legal advice on what to say when testifying.

Mr Agius denied having hit the player.