Malta Football Association president Norman Darmanin Demajo told court yesterday he had asked for an internal investigation on alleged misappropriation of funds by his predecessor, but had never reported the matter to the police.
He explained he had twice requested an investigation to establish how only a chunk of funds from the European football body UEFA were passed on to local clubs when they should have been passed on in their entirety.
He was testifying in two libel cases filed by former MFA president Joe Mifsud against Mr Darmanin Demajo, former Illum editor Kurt Sansone and journalist Mark Attard, presently the MFA media officer.
“I did not make a police report. I understand misappropriation is a criminal offence but I did not give it much thought. I did not say that Dr Mifsud took the money for his personal use. What I said was that when he was president of the MFA he misappropriated money that was meant to be distributed to local clubs,” he said.
Mr Darmanin Demajo explained that he had written to the MFA board of inquiry in December 2000, requesting an investigation into his claims. However, nothing was done as Dr Mifsud had taken the matter to an MFA extraordinary general meeting and asked for a vote of confidence.
Eight years later, in December 2008, hurt by Dr Mifsud’s televised allegations that he [Mr Darmanin Demajo] was harming the MFA, he repeated his request for an investigation.
UEFA had made it clear that the entire amount was to be distributed to clubs
Even on this occasion, no investigation was carried out.
“UEFA had made it clear that the entire amount was to be distributed to clubs. However, for five or six years, the MFA decided to take a portion of these funds for itself.
“After my second report, in 2008, the MFA stopped doing this and started distributing all the money to clubs,” Mr Darmanin Demajo said. He told Magistrate Francesco Depasquale that he had also objected to a contract signed by Dr Mifsud with German club Bayern Munich over a game in Malta.
The contract, which surfaced five months after it had been signed, had the figure $250,000 written in ink after the original amount had been erased. The contract was not the original but a photocopy.
Mr Darmanin Demajo continued that some two years after he had resigned from his post as MFA treasurer, international media reports had surfaced claiming that the MFA had been paid $300,000 and that the money was deposited in a trust account.
He also requested an investigation about this contract but this was never done.
The case continues in January.
Lawyer Chris Bonett appeared for Mr Darmanin Demajo while lawyer Paul Lia appeared for Dr Mifsud.