The long-drawn dispute between the Malta FA and Ministry of Sport which dogged Maltese football in the 1980s dominated the scene during the 1979-80 season.
Things worsened when the ministry decided to form a new football federation.
The new organisation was entrusted with the allocation of the grounds for the new season. Since most of the venues were under the jurisdiction of the ministry, the MFA and its affiliated members considered this move as a direct threat to their existence.
Some of the affiliated bodies took the easy way out and rushed to join the new federation.
The MFA was left isolated and with only the Gżira stadium at its disposal.
The association reached its lowest ebb ever and the clubs, sensing its weakness, behaved like naughty schoolboys who are caught with their hands in the sweet jar.
Twice that season, a First Division team failed to complete the second half of a match... an action which, in better days, would have ensured instant dismissal from the competition.
St George’s were the first team to abandon a game at half-time.
They were losing 0-3 to Floriana and without any valid or official reason, failed to make an appearance for the second half.
The MFA disciplinary board treated this serious infringement very lightly and only imposed a fine on St George’s.
A couple of weeks later, two players of Birkirkara FC decided to ‘boycott’ the second half of the match against Sliema Wanderers. Having made their two substitutions in the first half, the Stripes were forced to continue with nine men.
Once again, however, the MFA opted for leniency.
It was obvious that these incidents were ridiculing the game.
A fine was not enough but the MFA was not in a position to exercise its authority on the clubs by imposing a harsher punishment.
Things got worse on February 3, 1980 in the league game between Floriana and Ħamrun Spartans. For the second time in that particular football season, a team refused to continue the game at half-time.
This time the culprits were the Spartans.
Floriana were leading 4-0 at half-time with goals from Donald Buhagiar, George Xuereb and Silvio Demanuele (2).
It was all fair and square. Floriana fully deserved their advantage.
There were no controversial issues or decisions surrounding Floriana’s goals but for no apparent reason, the Spartans players as well as their reserves refused to come out for the second half.
In the circumstances, referee Richard Stagno Navarra had no option but to abandon the game.
In the ensuing post-mortem, it was established that it was the players and not the committee members who refused to play the second half.
It seems that there was great confusion in the dressing-room with chairs and objects being thrown from one side of the room to the other amidst heated arguments between the players.
The true reason behind the incident was never known and the MFA was forced, once again, to issue a fine against Ħamrun Spartans.
After that, it was decided that in future a team found guilty of refusing to honour a fixture would be automatically relegated to the lowest division of the league.