The proposal of the Premier League Clubs Standing Committee (PLCSC) to raise the number of foreign players from four to five is on course to be implemented before the start of the 2013/14 season after it received the backing of the Malta FA Council yesterday.
Under the current rules, teams in the top division are allowed to have four foreigners on the field in domestic matches but the quota will go up to five once the proposal is officially rubberstamped by the Malta FA Annual General Meeting tomorrow.
The MFA Council’s vote on the PLCSC motion followed a long debate that was characterised by the expression of diverging views on the subject.
The motion approved by the Malta FA Council also contains a significant change regarding the number of foreigners Premier League clubs can include in their matchday squad.
In an attempt to offset the negative impact the increase in the number of ‘playing’ foreigners could have on the development of homegrown talent, the Malta FA Executive Committee advanced a recommendation to limit the number of foreigners on the teamsheet to six.
The existing regulations impose no restrictions on the amount of the foreigners clubs can register and that will not change.
Norman Darmanin Demajo, the Malta FA president, told the assembly that the proposal, which was approved by the Council, was agreed following talks with the association’s technical centre.
“We felt that with this move, we are addressing the demands of the clubs while at the same time safeguarding our young players,” Darmanin Demajo said.
As clubs will have only one foreigner on the substitutes bench, provided they include five in their starting line-up, they will be compelled to bring on at least two Maltese players if the coach makes three substitutions and this will compensate for the rise in the number of foreigners.
The revised regulations also state that if a club names more than six foreigners on the teamsheet, all these players will be deemed ineligible.
Also yesterday, the MFA Council backed the Exco’s position to recommend an amnesty for footballer Julian Briffa, currently serving a life ban, on the grounds that he had provided useful information that led to other match-fixing cases being uncovered.
Briffa was handed a lifetime ban in March after being found guilty of offering a bribe to a player before a game between Sliema Wanderers and Ħamrun Spartans in season 2011/12.
Whistleblowers
Darmanin Demajo stressed that whistleblowers are the most effective weapons against match-rigging and this is why the MFA deemed it fit to recommend that Briffa’s life ban be reduced to one year.
“The whistleblower is the most potent weapon against match-fixing and it entails a lot of courage for a person to speak out and co-operate with the investigators like Briffa has,” Darmanin Demajo said.
The recommendation to grant Briffa an amnesty will be put forward for the approval of the MFA AGM tomorrow.
Darmanin Demajo revealed the four Premier League games which are at the centre of a match-fixing probe that has led to the provisional suspension of three former Ħamrun Spartans players, Gianluca Calabretta, Roderick Fenech and Massimo Grima, and two former club officials, Elton Borg and Julian Friggieri.
The suspicious games, played between January and February, are Ħamrun vs Hibs (1-6), Valletta vs Ħamrun (6-0), Ħamrun vs Sliema (0-2) and Ħamrun vs Birkikara (0-3).
It is anticipated that the inquest of the MFA board to adjudicate charges relating to illegal betting and bribery will be completed before the start of the 2013/14 Division One championship in September.
The prize money UEFA is paying clubs for participating in its competitions this season were also announced yesterday.
Birkirkara will receive €200,000 for entering the Champions League after winning the domestic championship.
The Stripes would earn a further €170,000 if they progress to the third qualifying round of the Champions League. On Tuesday, Birkirkara figured in 0-0 draw with Slovenia’s NK Maribor in the first leg of their Champions League second qualifying round tie at the National Stadium.
Hibernians, Sliema and Valletta will get €120,000 for their qualification to the Europa League.
Valletta’s progress to the second qualifying round has yielded an additional sum of €130,000 from UEFA while the financial reward for a berth in the third round is €140,000.
Balzan have informed the MFA that they have suspended wantaway defender Jacob Borg.
While acknowledging that Balzan are within their rights to suspend the player, Darmanin Demajo expressed concern over the association’s regulations which entitle clubs to compensation for the transfer of out-of-contract players, adding that these are not in line with FIFA’s rules.
The MFA head said Borg had joined Balzan in October on a free transfer with the club retaining the option of offering the player a further one-year deal at the end of the season.
“According to our transfer parameters, Jacob Borg’s value after just one season is €65,000,” Darmanin Demajo said.
Borg’s agent has written to the MFA to inform them that he is prepared to take the case to FIFA.