Malta Under-21 striker Joseph Mbong was offered a bribe through a mobile phone text message in an attempt to fix a recent UEFA Under-21 qualifier, but sounded the alarm bells and alerted the authorities, a court heard today.

The bribe attempt was revealed by Malta Football Association integrity officer Franz Tabone who was testifying before Magistrate Joe Mifsud during proceedings against Under-21 squad members Kyle Cesare and Emanuel Briffa, as well as Ronnie Mackay, 34, of St Julian’s.

Mr Tabone testified that the offer had been made by Seyble Zammit, days before the Under-21 team was due to play against the Czech Republic on March 29.  Malta lost the game 7-0.

Mr Tabone pointed out that prior to the message received by Mr Mbong, there had been persistent rumours of attempts to bribe the previous Under-21 qualifier

Last April, Mr Zammit, 21, had pleaded guilty to match-fixing charges but was exempted from punishment thanks to a law proviso which is applicable when the accused reveals sensitive information. His revelations led to the arraignment of Mr Mackay and the two Under-21 squad members.

During his testimony, Mr Tabone pointed out that prior to the message received by Mr Mbong, there had been persistent rumours of attempts to bribe the previous Under-21 qualifier played on March 23 which Malta had lost 1-0 against Montenegro.

When contacted with such claims, UEFA had told the MFA that there could have been suspicious betting patterns. This conclusion was based on an analysis carried out by  Swiss firm Sportradar, Mr Tabone said.

At this stage, the MFA integrity officer referred the information to the police for further investigation. However, the case escalated when the U-21 squad manager Jesmond Abela informed him about the offer which Mr Mbong had received on his mobile phone through Whatsapp, the witness said.

Mr Tabone told the court that on the morning of Easter Sunday, the police interrogated Mr Mbong together with several other football players who were residing at a Buġibba hotel in preparation for the Czech Republic game. However, he pointed out that none of the players approached by the police were suspects at that stage.

Cross-examined by lawyer Stefano Filletti who is appearing for Mr Briffa, Mr Tabone said no mention of any player had been made, saying the match-fixing claims against Montenegro were “generic”.

Lawyer Giannella de Marco is appearing for Mr McKay while Clifton Galea is appearing for Mr Cesare. Adrian Camilleri and Chris Bonnet are appearing parte civile for the MFA

The case continues on July 14.  

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