MFA president Bjorn Vassallo has defended the association's decision to terminate the Premier League and award the title to Floriana, saying that it did not make sense to postpone the decision until a later stage.

Vassallo was addressing a press conference after the MFA council on Monday decided to award the Premier League title to Floriana FC, despite local football being suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The decision was seen as controversial for the fact that, while Floriana were leading Valletta by three points, victory was not mathematically certain. There were still six games left to play.

The MFA decision sparked celebrations on the Floriana Granaries which sparked nationwide condemnation as supporters gathered in their hundreds, disobeying Coronavirus regulations.

Asked if the MFA could have risked waiting a bit longer, in hopes that the authorities would allow the sport to continue, Vassallo said the association had already decided that it would take a final decision on Monday.

He pointed out that measures restricting football are still in place.

While groups of up to six athletes can train, contact sports are still prohibited.

Even if these measures are lifted, players would need a few weeks to train before the league could restart, he argued.

Vassallo called on football fans not to be overcome by antagonism and pique. He insisted that correct decisions were taken by democratically elected MFA forums. All decisions taken were also in line with UEFA regulations and guidelines.

Vassallo said no fixed rules exist for something like the Covid-19 pandemic and he will be proposing a set of rules for similar cases in the future.

Local football was postponed on 12 March. Since then, the MFA has been in constant contact with the health authorities and UEFA, Vassallo continued. While the MFA wished for football to continue, it was eventually decided, in view of the recommendations issued by the health authorities, to terminate most leagues.

On 18 May, the FA decided to terminate also the Premier League and FA Trophy.

This was done, Vassallo said, because the MFA did not have guarantees from the health authorities that football could continue, or that contact sports would be allowed in the recent relaxing of measures.

"We looked at the health and wellbeing of all involved in football," he said, adding that there were also questions on whether all 14 clubs would manage to implement the protocols dictated by health authorities.

On Monday, the MFA council, which includes representatives from all clubs competing in all leagues, decided to scrap relegations and to award the Premier title to Floriana.

Vassallo said the executive has absolute faith in the council and the other forums, and the decisions taken by democratically elected forums must be respected.

Vassallo also addressed allegations levelled against him personally. He denied having ever attended any club celebrations during his tenure as FA president. He also denied having intervened for a club to be promoted or that he had changed the rules to favour a particular club.

The MFA, he said, will not be taking the case further but said it is open to dialogue and is willing to give further explanations.

Asked if a 16-team league would be too big for Malta, Vassallo said this will be a year of transition.