The Nationalist Party has temporarily closed its club in Hamrun after last Sunday leader Bernard Grech was refused entry.

In a short statement, the part said its administrative committee met to discuss last Sunday's incident and decided that the club should remain closed for the time being.

The party did not give an indication as to when it will be opened.

Neither did it mention any reference to how its party leader Bernard Grech was not allowed to enter the club as the locality was celebrating the feast of St Cajetan.

Grech attempted to enter the club with a group of followers but, as a barman refused him entry, an altercation broke out between people who were already in the club and others who were accompanying Grech.

One of Grech’s supports, Noel Mifsud Bonnici, was allegedly beaten to the ground, his wife later said on Facebook. The man needed to be taken to hospital for treatment.

Police officers on site intervened to break up the altercation.

In a post on Facebook (below), the injured man’s wife Fatima said her husband was attacked as he was accompanying Grech inside the PN club in Hamrun. The person responsible for the club, she wrote, did not want him inside and “when my husband, without any violence”, insisted that the party leader had every right to enter the club, he was attacked by a number of men who were inside the club. She said that her husband suffered torn knee ligaments and needed surgery.

Speculation has been rife as to the reason behind the refusal. News reports said that Grech had not visited the club for two years; while other reports said that Grech's decision not to have Mario de Marco as part of the shadow cabinet - a decision that was later reversed - led to bad blood, given that De Marco is popular in the district.