2012 has begun on a bright note for the refereeing sector as the number of Maltese officials on the FIFA panel has gone up to 16, an all-time high.
Assistant referee Mitchell Scerri, who succeeds the outgoing Joseph Camilleri, and beach soccer referees Stefan Pace and Jude Amin Utulu, are the new names on the list of international match officials who received their FIFA badges from MFA CEO Bjorn Vassallo during a presentation ceremony at Le Meridien St Julian’s on Tuesday.
The other officials on the FIFA panel are: Esther Azzopardi, Marco Borg, Christopher Lautier, Clayton Pisani and Alan Mario Sant (referees); Konrad Borg, Alan Camilleri, William Debattista, Mariano Debono, Christopher Francalanza, Edward Spiteri and Ingmar Spiteri (assistant referees) and Franco Cachia (futsal referee).
In his address, Adrian D. Casha, the MFA director of refereeing, said that Malta has reached an important target with the addition of two international referees for beach soccer.
Casha thanked Gjergji Bitri and Stephen Mallia who, during summer, oversaw the organisation of a seminar, under the auspices of FIFA, aimed at promoting refereeing in beach soccer.
“We are now reaping the benefits of this initiative as two Maltese referees have attained international status,” Casha said.
Casha also revealed that the officials for tomorrow’s crunch Premier League game between Hibs and Valletta will convene at a hotel in the morning in order to prepare for the match in the best way possible.
According to Casha, 90 per cent of the match officials who took part in a survey declared themselves satisfied that they are being given the opportunity to communicate openly with those at the helm of this important sector.
“The sporting spirit and the backing of the MFA’s administration is allowing us to maintain our efforts in order to keep improving the level of refereeing in our country,” Casha said.
Charles Agius, the chairman of the MFA’s referees’ committee, and Vassallo also add-ressed those present during Tuesday’s event.
Meanwhile, the first Referee Academy Weekend will take place between today and Sunday at The Diplomat Hotel, Sliema.
A total of 30 participants, aged 14 to 17, from nine boys’ and three girls’ schools will be attending – 24 males and six females.
The programme covers various topics to be addressed by referee instructors, discussions involving local referees from the different categories, attendances to a BOV Premier League match and a Futsal League match and the respective post-match analysis.
Norman Darmanin Demajo, the MFA president, will deliver the closing address.
The follow-up for all the young candidates after the Referee Academy Weekend will be weekly meetings over a three-month period after which they will be assigned duties to assist referees in the Under-13 league.