A report by the Malta FA financial department has revealed that local clubs didn’t receive their share of UEFA solidarity payments in full for five consecutive years, Norman Darmanin Demajo, the MFA president, has revealed.
Addressing the MFA council, Darmanin Demajo, whose election as MFA president in 2010 ended Joe Mifsud’s 18-year tenure at the helm of the local football body, claimed that the review showed that, under the previous administration, the association had withheld a total of €74,000 between 2003 and 2008 when UEFA guidelines state that its solidarity payments are to be transferred in full to the entitled clubs.
Darmanin Demajo explained that, after the MFA received notification from UEFA about its Champions League solidarity scheme, he asked the association’s financial department to draw up a report on the distribution of solidarity payments throughout the years. UEFA have allocated around €275,000 to Maltese football this year.
“For five consecutive years, starting from season 2002-03 and based on the information provided by our financial department, the solidarity payments were not distributed in full to clubs as instructed by UEFA,” Darmanin Demajo said.
“Upon receiving this information, I raised the matter during meetings of the MFA Bureau and Executive Committee. I was not going to be part of this. It’s not right that money earmarked for youth development is not given to the clubs.
“We can confirm that clubs have been short-changed for five years and once we establish which clubs were entitled to these payments, we should create a form of credit system to refund this money.
“I’m sorry that I have to mention these things. In the last two years of the presidency of my predecessor, the solidarity grants were paid in full.”
Darmanin Demajo reminded council members of the letter he sent to MFA general secretary Joe Gauci in December 2008 about alleged misappropriation of funds received from UEFA through its various assistance programmes.
“At the time, I had only called on the MFA to set up a board of inquiry to investigate the matter,” he added.
Darmanin Demajo said the MFA never held an inquiry into his claims of misappropriation of funds and instead Dr Mifsud sued him for libel.
It also transpired yesterday that the other top MFA officials who are still part of the association's hierarchy didn't have access to information about the exact amounts UEFA allocated to Malta in solidarity payments.
Also yesterday, Darmanin Demajo spoke about the Norway-Malta match-fixing saga in light of the decision of the UEFA Control and Disciplinary Body to ban midfielder Kevin Sammut for 10 years for his alleged involvement in the case which dates back to June 2007.
Darmanin Demajo stressed that the MFA’s role was that of “transferring agents” as it was UEFA who dealt with the case as the match in question was a Euro 2008 qualifier.
While reiterating his belief that the Euro 2008 qualifier between Norway and Malta was fixed, Darmanin Demajo also remains convinced that, based on the evidence given by convicted Croatian fraudster Marijo Cvrtak, more than one player was involved in the scandal in which €200,000 were placed in bets on the game.
Darmanin Demajo bemoaned the general reaction to UEFA’s ruling, saying: “When you have the courage to tackle the problem, suddenly there seems to be a reversal (in people’s opinions) and there are suggestions that all are innocent and that the UEFA trial was unfair.”
The MFA president said he discussed the malaise of match-fixing with the presidents of Premier League clubs in the aftermath of UEFA’s verdict on the Norway-Malta case.
“I asked them (club presidents) if they were with us and if they really wanted to combat this problem,” Darmanin Demajo said. “They promised me that they are 100 per cent behind the MFA and will do their utmost to fight it.”
The MFA president warned about what he described as the accumulation of “certain cliques in Maltese football and people who are coming into our clubs that make no sense”.
In order to strengthen its fight against match-fixing, the MFA have decided to start sharing with clubs information they receive from betting-monitoring company Sport-radar about games that attract irregular betting patterns.
Darmanin Demajo believes that the introduction of an amnesty, full or partial, to whistleblowers would significantly reinforce the MFA’s efforts to combat corruption.
The council referred the matter to the Statute and Regulations Committee for further discussion.
Latest projects
Bjorn Vassallo, the Malta FA CEO, gave a presentation on the infrastructural projects undertaken by the MFA in the last three months.
Vassallo said that works on the installation of panels in the enclosure canopy of the National Stadium began yesterday. Several panels were blown off the enclosure’s roof during thunderstorms last year.
Other projects at the National Stadium include the replacement of seats, upgrade of the VIP area, new technical area, new press conference room and media working area.
Meanwhile, the Youth FA yesterday announced that as from this season, local clubs can field up to two irregular immigrants in YFA competitions.
Failla case
• The National Anti-Doping Organisation have heard Clayton Failla’s doping case but the decision hasn’t been announced. Failla, the Hibs wing-back, was provisionally suspended last month after testing positive for a banned substance during a Euro Cup match in June.
UEFA fines Hibs
• UEFA have fined Hibs €5,000 over bottle-throwing incident during their Europa League game against FK Sarajevo. The match, played on July 12 at Corradino, ended 4-4.