Mosta and Birkirkara will lift the curtains on Premier League football in the New Year after their second-round meeting was rescheduled for January 4 yesterday.

The game was supposed to have been played last Sunday at the Hibernians Stadium but was postponed after the Malta Football Referees Association (MFRA) issued a directive to its members instructing them not to officiate the league match involving Mosta FC last weekend.

The MFRA stance was prompted by the unsavoury comments persons connected to Mosta FC made about referee Malcolm Spiteri on social media following the FA Trophy game between Mosta and Sliema Wanderers last month.

The MFRA directive left the Malta FA with no option but to call off the game.

The MFA, who said the MFRA measure was “uncalled for”, yesterday announced that the Mosta-Birkirkara game will now take place on Wednesday, January 4 at the Tedesco Stadium, starting at 19.30.

The adverse weather that has pummelled the Maltese islands since Friday rendered the pitch of the Hibernians Stadium unfit to host football games last Sunday but the first match in the programme, the clash between Pembroke Athleta and Gżira United, was switched to the Tedesco Stadium.

The game, played on Sunday evening, ended in a goalless stalemate.