The operator of a five-a-side football pitch and a groundsman have been fined after an incident during a charity tournament left a player suffering from a permanent disability.

Anthony Zahra, 71, a director of Green Investments Limited and Mark Piscopo, 47, who was not an employee but took care of the day-to-day management of the ground, were charged with having, through negligence, caused a grievous injury to architect Hector Zammit.

Mr Zammit suffered a head injury during a charity tournament held at the Floriana football ground in June 2012.

A metal goalpost toppled over Mr Zammit when he had gone to check if it was secured to the ground.

The victim testified that he regained consciousness later that evening in intensive care, before drifting out again.

Mr Zammit said he had double vision, could not hear anything and was bleeding so heavily that the coagulated blood on his face had rendered him unable to open his mouth at the time.

He had, in fact, suffered a fracture at the base of his skull, which caused nerve damage and paralysis in one eye, facial paralysis and a fractured jaw. He was assessed as having suffered a 29 per cent disability.

Four years later, the victim is still suffered from hearing, vision and balance problems, as well as insomnia.

He also complained of an ongoing jaw pain which makes it difficult for him to eat.

Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera observed that Mr Piscopo was not trained in the setting up of 5-a-side pitches or risk management. This laid the blame at Mr Zahra's feet for failing to employ a person responsible for overseeing health and safety at the ground.

“There is no doubt that he was negligent in his actions when he failed to place sandbags on the goalpost frame or chain it down, especially when there was to be a children’s tournament and children, by nature enjoy fiddling with things.

“Thank God that an even more tragic incident did not take place,” the magistrate said.

Mr Piscopo was fined €2,000 while Mr Zahra was fined €3,000.

The incident recalled a similar case in 2003 when a teenager died when he apparently pulled a goalpost on top of him in a Sta Venera school. The goalpost had not been properly fixed to the ground. http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20031028/local/boy-dies-in-school-ground-accident.137932