I would like to make it clear that I am not involved in any way with a club in Gozo. Secondly, I have been considering writing this letter for a long time now but enough is enough. The level or standard of football in Gozo has been deteriorating for many years and I wish to bring the following to the attention of the Gozo Football Association, the Malta Football Association and the Malta Referees Association.

The standard of refereeing is going from bad to worse, especially in the second divison where a referee handles games of the same team for six or seven times or even more.

Some referees in the second division are even involved in games where their home team is playing, putting them in an awkward position in the eyes of the opposing team.

The problems tarnishing football should be tackled

The level of ungentlemanly conduct is unfortunately filtering into the youth sections. I have been informed that about two weeks ago a particular team from the under-18 section did not honour its fixture with the leading team of the same section, the consequence of which hampered the team in second place whereby a draw would have resulted in a decider between the first- and second-placed team. If the first-placed team had lost the game then the second-placed team would have been declared champions of this section. This is a very serious case, especially where our younger generation is involved and, surely, this is not the way to treat our future footballers.

I am also informed that an inquiring board has been set up by the Gozo Football Association to investigate this case and I sincerely hope that this will have a favourable outcome that will not hamper in any way the good name of this beautiful game.

I hope these problems, which are tarnishing the game of football, are dealt with by all those concerned, including local football jornalists, for the future benefit of football in Gozo.