€200,000 was gambled on ‘fixed’ match

A total of €200,000 was bet on a “rigged” Euro 2008 qualifying match between Malta and Norway, Malta Football Association president Norman Darmanin Demajo revealed yesterday.

Many believe all the truth did not come out and I feel this way too

“It is plausible to believe that more than one player was involved to arrange the result,” he said, reflecting a general sentiment expressed by football enthusiasts after Friday’s verdict.

He was speaking at a press conference after UEFA’s disciplinary body found Valletta player Kevin Sammut, known as Il-Viper, guilty of fixing the match between Malta and Norway five years ago.

The European football union banned him for 10 years.

The Maltese player has vehemently denied the accusations.

Looking dejected about the whole episode, which he described as “a wake-up call” for Maltese football, Mr Darmanin Demajo reiterated his belief the match had been rigged and that more than one player must have been involved in the scam.

But he refused to speculate on the names, insisting he was speaking in generic terms.

The MFA was left to pick up the pieces after Friday’s verdict, which cast a shadow over Maltese football.

“Many believe all the truth did not come out and I feel this way too,” Mr Darmanin Demajo said, adding that in such cases evidence was not freely available.

He insisted the MFA did its part in compiling the information but the final decision rested with UEFA’s disciplinary board.

It was UEFA’s prosecuting officer who decided to charge the three players, he added.

The case revolves around Croat Mario Cvrtak, who formed part of a betting syndicate that fixed matches before he turned whistleblower. He was found guilty by a German court last year where he testified that one of the rigged matches was the Malta-Norway match, part of the Euro 2008 qualifiers in Oslo.

Mr Darmanin Demajo also stood by his claim last year that there was overwhelming evidence to show the game was rigged.

“I was referring to the testimony of Mr Cvrtak, a whistleblower, who provided certain details that were later confirmed by some of the players interviewed.”

Mr Darmanin Demajo said the 600-page dossier compiled by the MFA, which included interviews with members of the national team and Mr Cvrtak, will not be published because of data protection.

During the press conference, he also revealed that the MFA had paid for Mr Sammut’s flights to Switzerland as well as those of his lawyers.

He insisted the MFA was the injured party in this case.

The player had informed him he did not have the money to pay for the flights to be able to attend the hearing at UEFA’s headquarters in Nyon held on Friday.

“We discussed the request internally and agreed to pay for the flights to Switzerland.

“I did not want to have a player who did not have the possibility to defend himself, irrespective of whether he was guilty or not,” Mr Darmanin Demajo said.

Another two former national team players, Kenneth Scicluna and Stephen Wellman, were acquitted because of lack of proof.

Mr Darmanin Demajo said the MFA did not pay the flights of the acquitted players since they did not make a similar request.

With reference to charges by Mr Sammut’s lawyers that their client did not receive a fair hearing, the MFA president said that was an issue UEFA had to determine.

In football, unlike the civil courts where guilt has to be proven beyond reasonable doubt, a sports tribunal only needs to establish a comfortable level of certainty.

He explained that a player could be found guilty of match-fixing irrespective of whether he played the full 90 minutes or not at all.

Football pundits were left questioning how Mr Sammut could have fixed the match when he was substituted at half time. Malta conceded three easy goals for a 4-0 score line in the last 18 minutes.

“I am very saddened by the whole affair. Match-fixing and the criminal rings involved in betting are a big threat to the game,” he said, adding the national league worried him more than international matches.

Mr Darmanin Demajo met club presidents on Saturday to discuss the best way to tackle match-fixing.