Two Under-21 national squad players and a former soldier will face match-fixing charges in connection with last March’s UEFA championship qualifier against Montenegro, this newspaper has learnt.
Sources told the Times of Malta the police filed charges against defender Emanuel Briffa, 22, of Floriana FC, midfielder Kyle Cesare, 20, of Pietà Hotspur and Ronnie Mackay, 34, of St Julian’s, last week.
They have been summoned to appear in court on June 2.
The charges come in the wake of the admission by 21-year-old footballer Seyble Zammit who last month faced match-fixing charges but was exempted from punishment by a court after spilling the beans on the scandal. In his decision, Magistrate Saviour Demicoli applied provisions within the Prevention of Corruption (Players) Act.
Mr Zammit’s testimony, which was heard behind closed doors, is believed to have led the police to widen their investigations.
Mr Briffa, Mr Cesare and Mr Mackay will be charged with conspiring with one or more persons in Malta or beyond for the purpose of committing a crime punishable by imprisonment.
Mr Briffa, who last November made his debut with the senior national squad in a friendly against Jordan, and Mr Cesare, who is also very highly regarded, are also facing allegations of accepting bribes.
The prosecution is alleging that Mr Mackay was Mr Zammit’s accomplice. He will also be charged with being a relapser.
In October 2014, Mr Mackay, then a member of the Armed Forces of Malta, was convicted of attempted theft from a Victoria showroom and sentenced to 18 months in jail. He was also convicted over a string of other offences including causing bodily harm and evading tax on an imported vehicle.
A court heard last month that Mr Zammit told the police during interrogation he had been offered €6,000 to seal the bribe by a foreigner who had come to Malta purposely. However, none of the targeted players, whose name was not disclosed in court, had accepted the offer.
Mr Zammit had said that failure on his part to secure the deal meant he would have to pay for the lodging and travel expenses of the third party believed to be part of an Asian betting syndicate.
Fresh corruption claims were made in recent days, this time over a domestic Premier League fixture between Mosta and Pembroke. The alert was raised by online monitoring agency SportRadar, which flagged suspicious betting activity. The Malta Football Association passed the information on to the police for further investigation.
Reports said that an hour prior to kick-off bets had been placed on at least four goals being scored in the game as well as Pembroke finding the net five times. The end-of-season match saw Pembroke winning by five goals to three.
In a statement, the MFA said it has still not been informed by the police on the arraignments and could therefore not take disciplinary action. However, once such confirmation is received, the players will be suspended.