The first Malta FA Council meeting for season 2015/16 was dominated by a lengthy discussion on the anomalous situation that has surfaced in Gozitan football following the demotion of Nadur Youngsters.

Nadur Youngsters, one of the leading clubs on the sister island, were demoted to Division Two last month after their former secretary, Anthony Sam Portelli, admitted to trying to bribe a Xewkija Tigers player last season.

As a result of this sanction, the two divisions are now made up of seven clubs each whereas until last season, eight teams competed in the top echelon and six teams played in Division Two.

Faced with this situation, the Gozo FA tried to find a replacement for Nadur Youngsters in Division One but their efforts to convince a club to step up to the top flight proved futile.

This led the Gozo FA Council to decide that, for season 2015/16 only, no club will be automatically relegated from the top division but the team finishing last in the final classification will be involved in a play-off with the second-placed team in Division Two.

The top team in Division Two will secure promotion outright.

However, the Malta FA disagreed with the Gozo FA’s stance, arguing that the idea of not having a team relegated automatically goes against the sacrosanct principles of competition as championed by UEFA.

This divergence of opinions triggered an exchange of views between MFA officials, including president Norman Darmanin Demajo, vice-president Chris Bonett and Bjorn Vassallo, the general secretary, and Samuel Azzopardi, the head of the Gozo FA.

At the end of the debate, the Malta FA Council advised the GFA Council to reconsider reinstating Sannat Lions, who were relegated from the GFA Division One last season, even though the latter had already declined the offer to replace Nadur.

Dr Azzopardi, who earlier this year succeeded Alvin Grech at the helm of the GFA, told the MFA Council that all the second division clubs had turned down their approach to take Nadur’s place in the top flight.

According to the GFA statute, Munxar Falcons, the Division Two runners-up last season, are obliged to replace Nadur Youngsters but they refused to play in Division One.

Dr Azzopardi called on the MFA to grant the GFA a concession by accepting their proposal to have only a relegation play-off this season.

Dr Bonett, the MFA vice-president, replied that the local governing body of football made several concessions on various issues in the past but this is different as “the integrity of the competition was at stake here”.

Darmanin Demajo initially proposed that the bottom team in the GFA Division One be automatically relegated at the end of the season while the first two teams in the second tier will gain promotion.

This recommendation was immediately shot down by the GFA president who insisted that the MFA can’t impose this proposal on the GFA as it constituted a competition rule.

Dr Azzopardi argued that his association must abide by the MFA statute but they are not obliged to follow its competition rules.

The MFA president stressed that he regarded the GFA as an important extension of its Maltese counterpart and that their argument that they can decide on their own matters independently from the MFA doesn’t hold water as the Gozitan body receives a lot of support and benefits as a result of its affiliation with the MFA.

Dr Bonett insisted that, as the supreme body within the MFA, only the Council had the power to make a ruling on this issue and, after a number of officials had expressed their views on the matter, it was decided that the GFA Council should make another attempt to persuade Sannat Lions to replace Nadur Youngsters in Division One.

Club licences

For the first time, the MFA licensing board, spearheaded by Mario Gauci, applied the Financial Fair Play regulations when evaluating the clubs’ licence applications for 2015/16.

In the BOV Premier League, five clubs have been granted a UEFA licence, six have a professional licence and one of the newly-promoted clubs obtained a semi-pro licence.

In Division One, Vittoriosa Stars have until August 31 to submit their inland revenue documents. If the Stars fail to comply, they will start the season with a seven-point handicap.

Likewise, Division Two club Żurrieq are facing a five-point penalty if they fail to file the income tax documents by the end of next month.