The Malta FA have launched an investigation after Premier League club Floriana reported that a Vittoriosa Stars FC player had requested a meeting with one of their players before Saturday’s Relegation Pool match between the two teams.

The case revolves around an exchange of text messages between the two players a few days before the crucial match which Vittoriosa Stars won 2-1, sources told Times of Malta.

Floriana reported the matter to Franz Tabone, the Malta FA Integrity Officer, after their player had informed the club about the conversation he had had with a Vittoriosa Stars player.

According to information obtained by Times of Malta, the Vittoriosa player asked to meet his Floriana counterpart before Saturday’s encounter, played at the Centenary Stadium.

The Greens player declined to meet him before the match but top Floriana FC officials still deemed that the nature of the messages sent warranted further action from the football authorities.

Contacted by Times of Malta yesterday, Tabone confirmed that the Malta FA’s integrity office has opened an investigation but would not comment further.

It is believed that the two players involved in the alleged case have already been spoken to by the Malta FA.

Riccardo Gaucci, the president of Floriana FC, confirmed that his club have lodged a report with the Malta FA about the alleged approach.

“I can confirm that we have made a report to the Malta FA,” Gaucci told Times of Malta yesterday.

“I consider this matter to be very serious and I have full faith in the MFA and the sporting justice.”

Erskine Vella, the Vittoriosa Stars president, said his club were notified about Floriana’s report early this week.

“We were made aware of this situation on Monday after our player was summoned by the Malta Football Association,” Vella said.

“The player told the Malta FA that he was going to inform the club.”

‘Chat between friends’

Vella described the exchange of messages between the players as a “chat between two friends”, adding that the purpose of “this mind game was to destroy the atmosphere at our club”.

Saturday’s win kept Vittoriosa Stars’ erstwhile slim hopes of avoiding relegation to Division One alive as the Cottonera outfit trimmed the gap on third-from-bottom Floriana to three points with three games left.

It was the second straight defeat for the Greens who have since brought in a new coach, Italian Giovanni Tedesco, after dismissing former incumbent Ian Dawes only hours after their upset to Vittoriosa Stars.

Maltese football has been hit by a series of match-fixing scandals in recent years but no bribery cases have been reported so far this season.

The Malta FA Integrity Office has intensified its efforts to increase awareness about the perils of match-fixing.