Valletta’s gnawing disappointment at their 3-1 defeat to Hibernians last Sunday will have deepened yesterday after Jonathan Caruana was handed a two-match ban by the Malta FA Disciplinary Commissioner.
Referee Mario Apap showed a straight red card to Caruana after ruling that he had deliberately raised his left foot to hit Marcelo Dias after the Hibernians wing-back had tripped the Valletta defender on the half-hour mark.
Caruana’s dismissal changed the course of the game, triggering a chain of events that effectively ended Valletta’s hopes of winning after captain Ryan Fenech was also expelled soon after.
Having been booked for dissent following Caruana’s sending-off, Fenech earned his second yellow card for a rash tackle on Dias, only seven minutes after his team-mate had suffered the same fate.
Fenech received a one-match ban yesterday which rules him out of Sunday’s game against Sliema Wanderers while Borg will also miss the following fixture against Qormi.
Dias was also suspended for one match after collecting his fourth yellow card on Sunday.
The Brazilian will have to sit out Hibs’ game against Pietà Hotspurs this weekend.
Apart from Valletta duo Caruana and Fenech, Birkirkara’s Ryan Scicluna was the other player to earn a red card last weekend.
Scicluna, dismissed for a reckless tackle on Balzan’s Edison Bilbao Zarate, will miss the game against Qormi on Sunday after being handed a one-match ban.
Five other players were suspended for one game for four yellow cards. These are Birkirkara midfielder Paul Fenech, Floriana’s Clyde Borg, Mosta’s Ryan Grech, Pietà Hotspurs youngster Terence Agius and Trevor Cilia, the Sliema Wanderers winger.
Floriana’s Sacha Borg was also hit with a one-match ban after his club failed to file his medical clearance form as required under the Malta FA’s competition rules.
Floriana-Pietà scuffles
• The post-match skirmish involving players and officials of Pietà Hotspurs and Floriana at the Hibs Stadium last Saturday is expected to be looked into by the Malta FA Disciplinary Commissioner today.
The scuffles broke out as the two teams were making their way to the dressing rooms after sharing the spoils in a one-all draw.
It is understood that a number of witnesses have been summoned to testify at the hearing after the incidents were reported by the venue director.
Fenech, Grima to appeal
• Roderick Fenech and Massimo Grima have filed a notice of appeal against their life bans from football.
The former Ħamrun Spartans defenders were banned for life last week after being found guilty of fixing a number of matches during season 2012/13.
Zammit secures release
• Ian Zammit’s long spell with Valletta has come to an end after the experienced striker terminated his contract with the club by mutual agreement earlier this week.
Zammit’s exit had been on the cards as he has hardly featured for the Citizens this season.
The former Malta U-21 forward, who turned 28 last week, is unlikely to be short of offers in January, especially now that he is a free player.
In the past, Zammit had loan spells with Mosta and Ħamrun Spartans.