Malta Football Association President Norman Darmanin Demajo has apologised to referee Esther Azzopardi after the criticism she received on a controversial decision taken last Sunday during the Hibernians-Floriana match, which Hibs won 3-1.

Writing on Facebook, the MFA chief said that what was perceived as a wrongful decision taken by the referee – the red card to Floriana keeper Matthew Calleja Cremona – was in fact a correct decision as a goal scoring opportunity had been denied.

Mr Darmanin Demajo said that a clarification sought from the UEFA Referees Committie regarding the incident shows that the referee was right to send off the keeper.

This is what Mr Darmanin Demajo wrote:

Following last weekend's controversial refereeing decision regarding the sending off of the Floriana goalkeeper for a foul outside his penalty area, which decision was perceived to be mistaken by the absolute majority of football followers in Malta ( including myself !! ), and following 'clarification' sought from the UEFA Referees Committee regarding the incident, I would like to confirm that the decision taken by referee Esther Azzopardi was in fact correct, since at the exact moment of the incident, a goal scoring opportunity was denied. The factors that come into play to decide whether it is a goal scoring opportunity are the following: (a) the distance between the offence and the goal; (b) the likelihood of keeping and gaining control of the ball; (c) the direction of play, and (d) the location and number of defenders. In assessing the situation, based on the photo which was taken at the exact second that the referee whistled for the foul, the following additional comments were passed by the member of the UEFA referees committee. " The decision is supported by the fact that the attacking player could have shot directly at goal or he had 2 on-side team mates to pass to. Although there are 2 defenders in front of him they can not use their hands so it would not be easy for them to block a strong shot,especially if it was not along the ground. Thus an obvious opportunity to score a goal exists ( and was taken away). I would say that the decision is 75% Correct."

In plain English, Esther nailed it right !! I apologise to Esther for having harboured doubt about her decision. In the interest of fair play I would appreciate if this message is shared by all true football followers. NDD

The MFA's comment has not gone down well with journalists, as can be seen in comments on the social media. The president of the Sports Journalists Association, Charles Camenzuli, has taken exception to the fact that the MFA chief spoke about a refereering decision in public.

"This is the greatest precedent in sport administration, not only in football," he wrote. "I cannot imagine why we have arrived at a point when the president and/or official comment on a controversial decision... more so via the social media. I am very concerned," Mr Camezuli said.