Courteous till the end

The death of Lewis Portelli yesterday came as a shock to many who knew him either through sports-related matters or through his various philanthropic activities. Elsewhere in The Times today we are carrying a more detailed story of Mr Portelli's highlights in life as a dedicated sports writer, civil servant and an exemplary member of the society who was a friend to everyone - an extraordinary public spirited gentleman.

His career was long and varied and he was a source of inspiration to those around him. From the old days of the Rediffusion way back in the 1950s, he was gifted with a natural talent of giving an honest and useful service to his employers along the years.

He covered Olympic Games and World Cup tournaments besides other international events of certain prestige.

Mr Portelli was a regular contributor to The Times and The Sunday Times. The MOC Hall of Famer reported different sport and it was only a couple of years ago that he decided to take life easier and focus more on his football annual The Football Year Book - Malta.

Occasionally, Mr Portelli did manage to find time to write short contributions. The one underneath is the last, written only last Monday.

He was on a short holiday at a local hotel and his letter was hand-written. Naturally, Mr Portelli added a short note to apologise for not sending a printed version of his letter, a good-natured tribute to two of his 'late' friends - Joe Izzo and Robbie Decesare.

Joe Izzo and Robbie Decesare

Lewis Portelli, of Balzan, writes:

Allow me to add one very interesting anecdote involving two of my late friends: Joe Izzo and Robbie Decesare.

In one of his reports covering a First Division match, played at the Gzira Stadium on a Saturday, in which Sliema Wanderers were one of the protagonists, Decesare dedicated a whole paragraph chastising and blaming Edward Darmanin for dilly dallying with the ball in the Wanderers' penalty area instead of clearing it upfield which resulted in Sliema conceding a goal.

In his heydays as a pure full-back, Robbie was known for his strong, hefty clearances upfield into the opponents' half of the pitch (no turf then).

The next day, Sunday, Joe, standing below the refurbished wooden merchandise box, also known as the Press Box, in his calm way pointed out to Robbie that the culprit the day before was not Darmanin but Buttigieg. Robbie was at fault, but very much the diligent reporter he was, he dutifully added a correction to the next day's report.

Two honest gentlemen of the game who dedicated a big slice of their lives to the sport we all love.