Kevin Sammut has been banned from football for life. Yesterday, the UEFA Appeals Body upheld an appeal by the UEFA disciplinary inspector who successfully challenged the Control and Disciplinary Body’s initial ruling to suspend the former Malta midfielder for 10 years after being found guilty of helping to fix the Norway-Malta Euro 2008 qualifier.
Sammut, who has always denied any wrongdoing, had also lodged an appeal against his 10-year suspension but, after a lengthy hearing in Nyon, the Appeals Body not only turned down the 31-year-old’s plea but slapped the former Malta Footballer of the Year with a lifetime ban.
Neither UEFA nor the Malta FA issued a statement on the outcome of the hearing yesterday but lawyer Michael Sciriha, who led Sammut’s legal team in Nyon, confirmed with The Times last night that the UEFA Appeals Body had imposed a lifetime ban on his client.
The former Valletta midfielder can now appeal UEFA’s sentence at the Lausanne-based Court of Arbitration for Sport.
In a separate judgement, the Appeals Body confirmed the Control and Disciplinary Body’s decision to acquit former Malta defenders Kenneth Scicluna and Steve Wellman of match-fixing charges in connection with the Norway-Malta game due to lack of evidence.
The Appeals Body delivered the verdict yesterday evening after hearing a number of witnesses, including Marijo Cvrtak and Ante Sapina, the notorious leaders of the betting syndicate who allegedly concocted the plot to rig Norway-Malta.
Officials from the Malta FA’s Integrity Office, responsible for carrying out the main investigation into the match-fixing allegations, also testified yesterday.
Wellman, who plays for Qormi FC, issued a statement expressing his satisfaction at the Appeals Body’s decision.
“This is to confirm that today, the 30th November 2012, the UEFA Appeals Body has, after a hearing that lasted about seven hours, unanimously reconfirmed my lack of involvement and, or knowledge in the alleged match-fixing scheme concerning the match Norway vs Malta, played on the 2nd June 2007,” Wellman said.
“I am satisfied with this result as it confirms my innocence – a position that I have sustained since the inception of the investigation by both Malta FA and UEFA officers – and which has finally been confirmed by not just one but two independent adjudicating bodies of UEFA.
“In the aforementioned proceedings, I was assisted by Dr Keith A. Borg.”
The Norway-Malta match-fixing saga stretches back to May 2011 when Cvrtak testified in a Bochum court that he had met some of Malta’s players at an Oslo hotel to fix the Euro 2008 qualifier.
After completing a probe into the allegations, in March the Malta FA passed the voluminous dossier to UEFA who proceeded with the case.
The 2007 match ended 4-0 for Norway who scored three goals in the last 18 minutes. Sammut was in the starting formation but was substituted at half-time.
Scicluna, who is now on the books of Marsaxlokk FC, and Wellman played the full 90 minutes in Oslo.
Addressing the media after UEFA’s original decision in August, Malta Football Association president Norman Darmanin Demajo revealed that some €200,000 were placed as bets on the outcome of the game.