Hibs and Valletta will meet on the final day of the season if they maintain their current positions by the end of the second round. Photo: Paul Zammit CutajarHibs and Valletta will meet on the final day of the season if they maintain their current positions by the end of the second round. Photo: Paul Zammit Cutajar

The top two teams at the end of the second round of the 2014/15 Premier League will face each other on the final day but the sequence of the remaining third-round fixtures will not be determined by a draw as recommended by the Malta FA Executive Committee (Exco).

While there was a consensus that the teams occupying the first two positions in the table at the end of the second round should go head to head on the last weekend of the championship to enhance the prospect of a final-day title showdown, there were diverging opinions on how the fixture schedule should be established.

The animated debate during yesterday’s MFA Council meeting revolved around the recommendation of the Exco, who proposed that the third-round fixtures, bar those of the final day, be decided by a draw, and the stance of the Premier League Standing Committee (PLSC) who insisted that the sequence be published in advance.

MFA president Norman Darmanin Demajo explained that the Exco felt that the fairest method to determine the fixtures was by draw but the officials of the top-flight clubs stuck to their guns after selecting one of four options submitted by the competitions department.

Earlier this year, the Malta FA, in agreement with the clubs, jettisoned the two-tier format of the Premier League in favour of a new blueprint whereby the championship is played over three rounds with points halved after matchday 22.

The only pending issue was the sequence of the third-round fixtures which triggered a vociferous debate yesterday.

The Council eventually approved the option supported by the Premier League clubs with 32 votes in favour, 11 against and six abstentions, but not before Redeno Apap had taken centre-stage by storming out of the hall over a disagreement with Darmanin Demajo who had told the Qormi president to raise his hand before addressing the council.

The tone for the meeting had been set in the opening hour when Apap made a typically impassioned intervention over the Sebastian Siritto saga.

Siritto had filed a complaint with the MFA challenging the authenticity of his signature on one of the documents filed at the association during his short spell with Qormi. The Malta FA found in favour of the Argentine striker and ordered that Qormi be deducted three points if they commit a similar offence over the next 12 months.

Qormi deny any wrongdoing with Apap reiterating the club’s determination to clear their name.

Late last week, Qormi sent an eight-page letter to the Malta FA in reply to the latest ruling by the Appeals Board which confirmed the original decision but their counter-arguments were not presented for discussion during yesterday’s Council meeting.

The MFA head said that the legal department needed time to evaluate Qormi’s letter but Apap felt that the matter should have been treated with urgency, also in view of the fact that the club was bound by time constraints if they wanted to take the case to the tribunal.

The Council agreed to suspend the time-limit for referring the case to the arbitration tribunal until Qormi’s reaction has been discussed.

UEFA fine

• The MFA have been hit with a fine of €8,000 by UEFA after the match delegate for the Malta-Italy Euro 2016 qualifier reported that scores of fans in the South Stand watched the game from the upper gangway.

• The FIFA Appeals Board has backed the decision taken by the MFA Disciplinary Board to suspend former Rabat Ajax goalkeeper Pavle Velimirovic for one year. The Montenegrin was sanctioned after he admitted to placing bets on matches played by Rabat last season.

Third round schedule

  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
1 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
2 11 12 9 10 7 8 5 6 3 4 1
3 8 7 6 5 10 9 12 11 2 1 4
4 7 8 5 6 9 10 11 12 1 2 3
5 10 9 4 3 12 11 2 1 8 7 6
6 9 10 3 4 11 12 1 2 7 8 5
7 4 3 12 11 2 1 10 9 6 5 8
8 3 4 11 12 1 2 9 10 5 6 7
9 6 5 2 1 4 3 8 7 12 11 10
10 5 6 1 2 3 4 7 8 11 12 9
11 2 1 8 7 6 5 4 3 10 9 12
12 1 2 7 8 5 6 3 4 9 10 11

Numbers in first column denote teams’ positions at the end of second round.

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