Gozo Football Association president Elvin Grech, who was given a suspended jail sentence in connection with a falsified document, has been appointed head of a newly founded Gozo Sports Board, Times of Malta has learnt.
Sources close to the Gozo Ministry yesterday said that Mr Grech was recommended for the post by Gozo Minister Anton Refalo and was receiving more than €40,000 a year.
However, Dr Refalo says that he has nothing to do with the board or Mr Grech’s appointment.
The board was launched last March by Dr Refalo and Parliamentary Secretary Stefan Buontempo, who was responsible for sports at the time.
Dr Refalo had said that the sports board was his government’s initiative and it would be “implementing the government’s sports policy for Gozo”.
There is nothing which hinders the tenure of my position
When asked yesterday to explain his connections with Mr Grech and whether he would be asking for his resignation following the court sentence, Dr Refalo replied: “The Gozo Sports Board is an independent body set up through the initiative of autonomous organisations with the aim of addressing constraints in facilities and sports management while promoting different disciplines in Gozo.”
He said that “the mentioned CEO was in fact chosen by a unanimous decision of the board. Any decision about his working contract will be taken within the Gozo Sports Board together with representatives of all sports organisations.”
Asked specifically whether the board, including the CEO’s salary, was funded by the Gozo Ministry, Dr Refalo did not comment.
Times of Malta is informed that the board’s operations are funded by the government. Mr Grech’s remuneration is also covered by the government.
The board operates from the Gozo Sports Complex, a government-owned building.
Among his duties as Gozo Sports Board CEO, Mr Grech is directly involved in the administration of various sports facilities within the Ministry of Gozo and in the management of funds related to them and to sports organisations.
It is not known whether Dr Refalo was aware of the judgment, which was handed down in March last year, when Mr Grech was appointed CEO. He would not comment when asked.
When contacted, Mr Grech said he had not informed the minister of his conviction at the time of the appointment.
Asked whether he felt he should relinquish his public posts in view of the conviction, which had now become public, Mr Grech said he did not think his position had become untenable.
“According to the present statutes and regulations of the entities I presently form part of (the GFA and the sports board), there is nothing which hinders the tenure of my position”, he said.
Taking the same line as Dr Refalo and insisting the sports board was independent from the government, he would not confirm that his appointment was made by the Gozo Ministry and would not say whether he received his salary from the government.
“This question should be addressed to the Gozo Sports Board because I am not the person authorised to give such information,” he said.
Dr Buontempo did not answer this newspaper’s questions and submitted replies identical to those of Dr Refalo.
Times of Malta yesterday reported that the Court of Criminal Appeal confirmed a five-month jail term suspended for two years given to Mr Grech who, the court had noted, had full knowledge that a letter was falsified when he delivered it to Mepa’s office in Victoria.
Sources told this newspaper that not all members of the GFA executive committee had been aware of the case against their president even though the matter involved the association directly.
The case was about floodlighting at the Xewkija stadium.