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Monday, August 20, 2012, 12:50

Update 3 - Darmanin Demajo: €200,000 placed in bets on Norway-Malta game

MFA president says that in his opinion, more than one player was involved in match fixing

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Malta Football Association President Norman Darmanin Demajo said this afternoon that he was convinced that the Euro 2008 qualifier between Norway and Malta was indeed fixed and in his opinion more than one player was involved, especially as €200,000 were placed as bets on the match.

Speaking at a press conference at the MFA offices, he said the evidence was overwhelming.

He said that a player could fix a game even if he was on the bench on not in the squad at all.

Last Friday, UEFA declared that player Kevin Sammut was guilty of match fixing and banned him for 10 years.

Sammut, who denied the claims, only played for the first half the match.

Mr Darmanin Demajo said the charge was not related to the amount of playing time.

He said that while this case did not do credit to Maltese football, it was an eye-opener.

He said it was his opinion that the game was fixed and more than one player was involved. The MFA had gathered all the information available to it and passed it on to UEFA, which had to rule on the case, he said. He therefore would not comment further on the other players who were investigated.

Asked whether the MFA was satisfied with the outcome, Mr Darmanin Demajo said his opinion was irrelevant. He said that everyone felt that the whole truth had not come out, and he also shared that view.

Asked whether he suspected other international matches may also have been fixed, Mr Darmanin Demajo said he had no such information, and the national league worried him more.

MFA Integrity officer Franz Tabone said that had been one of the worst years of his life as it changed his perspective of the game. He urged the media not to be sensational.

He said that the first report of testimony had indicated Maltese player No. 10 and it was initially thought that Marijo Cvrtak, of Croatia, who made the allegations during a trial in Bochum, was referring to Gilbert Agius based on a line-up, but it turned out that the No. 10 in the Norway-Malta game was Kevin Sammut and the police had made a mistake.

MFA FUNDED KEVIN SAMMUT'S FLIGHTS

Mr Darmanin Demajo confirmed that he had met Kevin Sammut who told him that he could not afford travel expenses to defend himself. The MFA funded his flights and those of his lawyers.

The other players did not ask for assistance.

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Justin Tabone

Aug 20th 2012, 19:43

Well said Mr Caruana. The problem is the betting companies sponsoring clubs. Almost in every game you can see adverts of betting companies or even the main sponsors of certain clubs. UEFA and FIFA should ban betting companies to sponsor clubs the same as happened with tobacco sponsorships in motor racing. This is the first step if they want to restore credibiity.

A Cachia

Aug 20th 2012, 18:59

Do you think the 12 goals from Spain were mere coincidence?

Mario Vella

Aug 20th 2012, 18:43

Ma stajtx taghti stampa ahjar tal fatt li llum fl 2012, jekk ibnek ikollu talent fl isorts tiehu qatgha! ghax tfisser spiza, li jekk ma tiflahiex, ibnek jibqa johlom biss

Richard Zammit

Aug 20th 2012, 14:53

George can you kindly or anyone tell me how much money was put on the PSG last 2 games ? so where these games fixed by the bookmakers as it doesn't make sense that one invests so much money and then draws the first 2 games . Do you intend to impress anyone with the sum of €200,000 , Why don't you ask the betting companies how much money was lost regarding the PSG games . Mr Tonna in every sport there are book makers involved , otherwise they will not be there , they're not idiots . i can send you a detailed list of how many clear favourites end up on the losing end . take for example the racing , how many times a clear favourite ends up last in a race ? does it make sense ? i'm sure it doesn't .

Nicki Gatt

Aug 20th 2012, 15:06

There are a million reasons why people bet on certain odds. It could have been have posted on a forum or a newsletter or people saw the odds go down. The only evidence that exists to prove that the match was fixed is that the players have pocketed a sum of money or the player says he received an amount of money. Whether there was 2million of bets on this match or anything else can't prove that Viper is guilty. . The player didn't even have enough money to defend himself or pay for the trip. Dede can't make irresponsible statements without backing them up!

Claire Vella Randon

Aug 20th 2012, 19:12

I agree that this is an eye-opener and I am sure that the Integrity Officer and the Prosecutor are doing a great job. Well done MFA. Cases like these are never easy to proof.

Michael Vella

Aug 20th 2012, 14:38

Because the MFA did the right thing and gave the player the chance to defend himself....what's so shocking exactly????

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