The European football federation, Uefa, has moved to overturn the decision to clear two Maltese players of match-fixing charges during the Malta v Norway Euro 2008 qualifier.

Uefa’s disciplinary inspector is also seeking to convert a 10-year international ban slapped on Kevin Sammut, il-Viper, into a lifetime ban.

The Valletta midfielder will be appealing against Uefa’s original ruling on Tuesday. Stephen Wellman and Kenneth Scicluna, were cleared last month.

A 10-year ban would have still ended the 31-year-old’s career; however, a lifetime extension would also prevent him coaching.

Mr Wellman, 30, who is on Qormi’s books, and Mr Scicluna, 33, who now plays for Marsaxlokk, had played the full 90 minutes of the disputed game, while Mr Sammut was substituted at half-time.

The allegations against the three players first surfaced during the German trial of Croat betting syndicate Mario Cvrtak in May last year.

Mr Cvrtak, one of the masterminds of what has been described as Europe’s biggest match-fixing scandal, alleged in court he had met the players in a hotel before the match.

For most of the match Malta coped well with Norway’s pressure but crumbled in the closing stages and conceded three late goals.

It was one of many allegedly rigged matches cited in the betting scandal.

A Uefa spokesman yesterday would only confirm that an appeal had been filed with its appeals board.

However, sources told The Times the federation wants to pursue stiff penalties across the board.

One of Mr Sammut’s lawyers, Lucio Sciriha, confirmed his client would file an appeal on Tuesday but did not elaborate.

Sources said the player received the reasons for his suspension from Uefa’s disciplinary body two weeks ago.

The Malta Football Association had initiated its own investigations after obtaining a transcript of Mr Cvrtak’s testimony in October.

The association concluded its probe in March and sent its findings to Uefa’s control and disciplinary board to determine whether sufficient grounds existed for disciplinary action to be taken.

It had also passed on findings to the police but no criminal proceedings have been taken to date.

In an initial reaction to Uefa’s verdict, MFA president Norman Darmanin Demajo had said: “I personally believe there had to be more players involved.

“But we need to respect the decision of Uefa’s Control and Disciplinary Body and in the absence of proof it would be unfair to arrive at any further conclusion.

“The whistleblower in this case originally claimed that four players were involved. I personally believe you can’t fix a game with one player.”

However, there was also some concern over how Mr Sammut’s case was handled, with his lawyers accusing Uefa of not giving their client a fair hearing.

Late last month, the international players union FIFPro also expressed “concern” about the process that led to the federation’s decision.

If Mr Sammut is unsuccessful before Uefa’s appeals panel, he can take his case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

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