Clubs to seek clarification following MFA ruling

Premier League and Division One clubs will be seeking clarification from the MFA executive committee on a decision taken earlier this week not to let another team replace Vittoriosa Stars in the top flight next season after the latter had lost their place following a ruling by the Board to Investigate Corrupt Practices in a match-fixing case.

Club delegates met over the past few days to discuss eventualities they might face this season as a consequence of having lesser teams in the top flight and more than ten figuring in Division One.

With the same MFA board likely to decide on another bribery attempt case, involving top flight outfit Marsaxlokk next week, Premier League club officials are showing serious concerns that a championship with reduced teams could divert spectators away from the stadium, resulting in less matches and a significant cut in gate money.

The first effects of a nine-team format were felt this weekend as the derby between Valletta and Floriana was shifted to this evening instead of a Friday night kick-off to fill the slot left vacant by the cancelled fixture between Vittoriosa and Hibernians at the National Stadium.

In a press release issued at around midnight on Monday, the MFA announced that after analysing the decision which the Board to Investigate Corrupt Practices had finalised just hours before, Vittoriosa will not form part of the Premier League and the championship will be contested by nine teams.

There was no mention of a possible replacement or whether the current league format will be changed. But, it is understood that the MFA was applying a rule in its statute that refers to changes in competitions already underway.

Club delegates, however, will be contesting this interpretation during next Monday's MFA council meeting. Most of them are arguing that Vittoriosa's place should be filled by another club and the league cannot be contested by less than ten teams.

One source even told The Times that a competition with nine teams or even less could possibly leave a negative impact when UEFA distributes slots among member nations for European club competitions for the season that follows.

Meanwhile, Division One teams will now have to play more matches than originally scheduled and that would mean a considerable number of midweek fixtures after it had been established that the championship would start late in November.

Moreover, competition for promotion will intensify with the addition of new teams in the league, making the race for any of the two slots available more difficult for some to achieve than in previous seasons.

Four-month bams

Two Sta Lucija players, Anthony Brignoli and Fulvio Azzopardi, were handed hefty four-month bans this week by the MFA Disciplinary Board.

Brignoli and Azzopardi were suspended for delaying to report to the MFA an alleged bribery attempt.

The case revolves around a Division Three match between Sta Lucija and Gzira. It is also being dealt with by the MFA Board to Investigate Corrupt Practices.