Born in Hamrun in 1934 Tonio Briguglio was raised in Santa Venera. He tied the knot with Marianna née Persiano on 5 August 1961 and has two children, Tonio and Annamaria, now also married.

The time of his upbringing was just shy off the Second World War so difficult times were on the horizon. “I first saw the light of day on 22 July 1934 at 26, Annunciation Street, Hamrun. I am the eldest of three brothers and two sisters. After some months my parents moved to new premises at Santa Venera. My father was a police officer and my mother was an elementary school teacher in her younger days. Mine was a normal childhood with a strict upbringing which served as a solid basis in my later years. During that time, the distant drums of World War II were already vibrating although my brother and I were more absorbed in our early schooling and playing outdoors with the neighbours' children. Who would have thought that in the near future we were to be mostly confined to underground shelters and drastic living for about four years? But we survived mainly through my parent’s courage and fortitude. When the war ended, I was a fully-fledged nine-year-old young man and looking forward to further my schooling and settle to the new living attitudes caused by the war.”

But how was he raised? The childhood of those days was much different from what we are accustomed to today. “My school days started early. Initially, it was my mother who was my tutor. When I was just four years old, a retired teacher, four doors away from my home, used to gather the young children into a mixed class and gave us our daily tuition. Not to be outdone, this kind soul even continued his teachings down in the shelter during air raids.”

With the war thankfully over it was time to make up for lost ground. “At nine years old, I commenced my official primary at the Hamrun Boys' School, which meant walking four kilometres to and from home. Having successfully passed my final examination, I moved on to secondary status at the Lyceum, the most popular instructional institution at the time. My parents were so happy and I remember having my mother accompanying me to the Hamrun branch. At the Lyceum I had to proceed to Form VI as my father wanted me to sit for the Matriculation Examination and continue to University.”

“But that was not to be as one day, during the following summer holidays, my father suffered a heart attack and our world fell apart. His was our only income and he was the only breadwinner. I was just 17 years old. I said goodbye to my studies, even if temporarily, and started looking for a job. Fortunately, I was successful in the clerk/typist examination within the Civil Service and that was to become a 42-year eventful career in Government Service. An experience I would rather not go through again. During my time in the service I continued my studies at the MCAST, University of Malta, Universita del Sac. Cuore in Rome, Ministero degli Esteri also in Rome and the Post Office Management College in the UK. As regards sport, I attended advanced courses, among others, on Advanced Refereeing Instruction and Leadership organised by UEFA, the FA, FIGC and the Olympic Committee of Germany. I was pensioned out as a senior principal in 1995.”

Tonio delved into his sport connections and how it all started. “Originally my first sport was not football but athletics which is still a favourite of mine. I represented the Hamrun Boys school twice at the Empire Day Festival organised by the Ministry of Education for Elementary schools and later, during my days at the Lyceum, I was chosen to run the 400m in the Secondary Schools Championships. It was also at the Lyceum that I played my first competitive football match against St Edwards. From there on, I continued my football saga, first as a player in the MFA minor league with Balzan Youths, St Venera Lightnings and Gudja.”

“I also coached St Venera and was also on their committee. During my father's illness, I found no time to attend to training so I turned to refereeing. I passed the initial examination and started my activity some months later. As a new recruit, I had to act as linesman for a season. The venues at that time were open hard grounds missing the hygienic aspect and above all without any security. After four years, during which I controlled third Division matches at the Pace Grasso, (previously Schreiber Sports Ground), I was promoted to Second Division level. The majority of matches were played at the Gzira Stadium during Saturdays afternoon and Sundays mornings. The general atmosphere in the grounds at that time was rudimentary but at least at the Stadium and Pace Grasso there were showers and toilets. In season 1968/69, I made it to the First Division with my first match being Sliema W. vs Valletta. ((2-0). The next season, mine and every referee's dream came true, with my nomination to the International FIFA where I remained for 15 years until I reached retiring age.”

During my time resources were limited and training facilities were practically primitive. It was a difficult but beautiful time after all. “I do not regret one moment; with all the ups and downs and with limited resources, we still enjoyed the game because we loved it. That is the secret of it all. Personally, I used to train three hours daily, come rain or shine. We even had to fork out certain expenses while our remuneration was minimal. What mattered most was the positive outcome from the match and the media report on the morrow. There were far less facilities at that time and our exercises were carried with makeshift equipment.

“However the enthusiasm, by both the players and officials, was boundless. It is true that overzealousness by the odd player or some hot-headed supporter may have been more frequent but the overall enthusiasm and the positive patronage, whatever the match, made it worthier going to the Stadium which was situated in a centralised position and with the spectators nearer to the action contrary to that at the National Stadium, Ta' Qali.”

Briguglio also controlled matches at Ta’ Qali for some four years before his retirement in 1985. But what was the main contrast between the atmosphere and the pitch? “With senior football being transferred to the new Ta' Qali Stadium in 1981, the local game's technical aspect improved. At last we saw football being played on turf, something which the Maltese football lovers, always yearned for. More foreign players playing in our leagues upgraded the level of play and made our competitions more interesting. But one problem, which the MFA faces from season to season, is the low attendance to the venues. And to make matters worse, because of the present virus, which took over the whole world, football is now being played in empty stadiums, when it is a foregone conclusion that the team’s supporters are their 12th player. The enthusiasm and support from the terraces will be hugely missed. I had various occasions to control Premier matches at Ta' Qali with my last match being my ninth FA Trophy Final between Valletta and Zurrieq, which ended in a draw with the latter winning the replay.”

Officiating a Trophy final is the highlight of a career. Controlling international matches gives a lot of satisfaction. But are there any moments that remain encrypted on your mind? “Locally I was appointed to nine FA Trophy Finals, six of which consecutively. Refereeing two national finals in one day − the KO Final of the national competition organised by the Ministry of Sport in the morning at Marsa and the FA Trophy Final in the afternoon.

“Beyond our shores, I am the only Maltese to have been appointed by FIFA to control a match in Asia, Saudi Arabia vs Iran and also appointed by UEFA as a linesman for the U21 Final between England and Germany which was played at the Barcelona Nou Camp Stadium in front of 120,000 spectators. In my opinion, my most precious memento is a letter sent to me by the general manager of UEFA thanking me for my valid contribution to European football during my international career.”

Getting the FIFA Badge meant new horizons and a lot of experiences abroad. “As aforesaid,  the FIFA Badge is the most important milestone all referees look forward to. It extends to the official the chance to meet world class players and control matches on grounds of world repute. Being appointed to the FIFA panel of referees makes the referee grow in stature and leads him to gain vast experience in international football and  the chance to enjoy the social mix with other referees from all over the globe.”

And Tonio also kept his involvement as an official for years to come. For 16 years he was on the FIFA/UEFA panel of referees, UEFA Referees' Observer, president of the Malta Football Referees Association (1985/87) and also he attained a UEFA ‘C’ licence as a Football coach. Tonio's involvement in sport was not confined only to football as he was very much active in other sport disciplines; among which, he was also a Basketball referee (1974/96), where he reached his pinnacle when he was one of the referees in the semi/final of the World's Pan Arabic Championships in Tunis in 1981. Other sport connections were general secretary of the Malta Table Tennis Association and member of the International Table Tennis Federation and the European Table Tennis Union. Scootering: Malta Champion team (1956/61), which represented Malta (1960) in Rome for the European Championships winning the Bronze Medal. Federazzjoni Klabbs tal-Bocci (1980/86) founder and first president. Malta Amateur Athletic Association treasurer and coach. Moreover, he was appointed as an international referee and rapporteur in the European International Competition, Giochi senza frontiere. (1995/96).

After packing up in 1985 he kept his involvement in the game. Was it continuity? “Personally after my retirement as an active referee, I was named by the MFA for the post of a UEFA Referee Observer. I stopped this activity after two seasons due to family matters and also as I had opted to enter the field of sport media where I continued to give my contribution to TV and radio in state broadcasting. After my time in sport media matters, I was asked by the MFA to return to their fold as a referees' mentor and observer which I accepted and am still active to this day.”

In 2002, he was bestowed with the prestigious honour of Gieh il-Hila by the Qormi Local Council for his aspiring and zealous contribution among the youths of Citta' Pinto. Among other insignia, in 2017 he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Malta Football Association and elected to the Hall of Fame of the Malta Olympic Committee for services rendered to football and sport in general.”

Everybody likes to know the future but no one can predict what’s in store. But what does Tonio think about the future of the game on our island. “Unfortunately the beautiful game's  status in Malta could definitely have been better and during these last years it has passed through a lean period. For all its efforts the Malta Football Association has not as yet achieved the expected results. This season, a new national coach from Italy has been engaged. A slight improvement in our team's tactics and technical preparation was noticed but we still lost our opening match which we should have won. We drew our second encounter but several mistakes were committed especially in defence. The Maltese sporting public looks forward to our national team's positive improvement in the remaining matches.”

Briguglio was twice named a contestant for the Official of the Year for the yearly sport national awards, organised by the Sport Writers Association. “The first time was in 1983 when I represented the Federazzjoni Klabbs tal-Bocci as the founder and the first president and in 1995 was general secretary of the Malta Table Tennis Association and was elected  member of the European Table Tennis Union. On both occasions I was voted in third place.  There was another occasion when I was appointed the secretary of this contest. This latter experience led me to decline any eventual nomination.”

Briguglio also made a name as a TV pundit. How does he describe this experience. “For more than 15 years I was involved in several sports programmes by TV Malta which became very popular and went down well with the sporting public and which I really enjoyed participating in.”

Sport apart, Tonio is a person who always cherished family values. “Although I passed through a rather hectic life as a result of my work and involvement in sport, I kept my family always at the forefront. My wife and two children were the dearest and most precious gifts God has bestowed on me. Unfortunately, my wife's demise, seven years ago, left quite an emotional scar which as yet has not healed and which I feel will never go away.”

For the ex-referee a plate of pasta and fish are his culinary favourites. And that also confirms why one of his favourite travel destinations is Italy. “Yes I truly love to visit Italy and England. In both countries I feel at home and relaxed.”

Though still leading a rather hectic life, Tonio loves to roam in the countryside or what's left of it, hearing music and reading classics. And of significant importance is that he never misses his daily hour of exercise.

Briguglio’s final words were more sentimental and patriotic. “As an ardent follower of our national team, I look forward to that time when the efforts being made to improve our game start to bear fruit.”