Three players who turned out for Ħamrun Spartans last season have been suspended provisionally by the Malta FA over match-rigging.
The MFA announced yesterday evening that Gianluca Calabretta, Roderick Fenech and Massimo Grima are facing charges related to match-fixing during season 2012/13.
“The Malta FA informs that, during a meeting of the Executive Committee on July 15, 2013, it has been decided that charges are to be filed against players Gianluca Calabretta, Roderick Fenech and Massimo Grima over their alleged involvement in an attempt to bribe other players with the intention of influencing or altering, in an anti-sporting manner, the natural course or result of football matches during the 2012/13 domestic season,” the Malta FA said in a statement posted on its official website.
Fenech was the captain of Ħamrun Spartans last season while the much-travelled Grima is a former Malta international.
The local governing body of football has also opened disciplinary proceedings against Elton Borg and Julian Friggieri, two former members of the Ħamrun Spartans committee, for their alleged involvement in the match-fixing cases.
“As Elton Borg and Julian Friggieri were members of the committee of Ħamrun Spartans when the alleged facts took place, a charge will also issued against Ħamrun Spartans.”
The financially-stricken Ħamrun Spartans, who were relegated from the Premier League at the end of last season, face severe sanctions, ranging from fines, points deduction to demotion, if they are found guilty.
The Malta FA confirmed that the three players and two former Ħamrun Spartans officials have been banned from all football activities with immediate effect, pending the outcome of an inquiry by the MFA board to adjudicate charges related to bribery and illegal betting in football.
Times of Malta understands that the investigations of the Malta FA Integrity Office, which began over three months ago, focused on four matches played by Ħamrun last season.
During the course of the investigations, the MFA prosecuting officer uncovered sufficient evidence to propose that charges be pressed against the players and former club officials.
After taking note of the findings of the Integrity Office’s probe into the match-fixing cases, the Malta FA Executive Committee, meeting for the last time yesterday afternoon before the association’s annual general meeting which will be held on Saturday, implemented the prosecuting officer’s recom-mendation to enforce provi-sional bans against the accused in accordance with the body’s regulations.
Sources have told Times of Malta that the Whistleblower’s Act, approved by the Malta FA a few months ago, was instrumental in solving these match-fixing cases as at least two players are believed to have provided useful infor-mation to the investigators.
The police are understood to be carrying out their own inves-tigations into these match-fixing allegations as part of a wider probe into bribery and illegal betting on domestic football matches.
This is the third match-fixing scandal to hit Maltese football in the past 12 months as the Malta FA maintains its unstinting efforts to fight corruption in football.
Last April, four players, Gaetan Spiteri, Julian Briffa, Jermain Brincat and Chris Brincat, were handed life bans for match-fixing.