Given the dearth of excitement in most of the Premier League matches this season, the gripping finale to Sunday’s tiff between leaders Birkirkara and second-placed Hibs came as a breath of fresh air but the positive feeling was short-lived as the last two minutes were mired in controversy.

Much of the criticism from the Birkirkara clan and the pundits was aimed at referee Marco Borg for his decision to award Hibs a soft penalty, only moments after Shola Shodiya Haruna had given the Stripes the lead, as well as to issue a straight red card to Paul Fenech for a late challenge on Clayton Failla.

Amid the usual talk of conspiracy, the Malta FA has been taken to task not only for selecting Borg, who hails from Valletta, to officiate the Birkirkara-Hibs match, which ended 1-1, but also over other issues like the format of the championship and dwindling attendances.

This season has not been easy. We’ve been hit by a match-fixing decision involving the national team (Norway-Malta).

While taking note of the grievances aired by Birkirkara and other football followers, Bjorn Vassallo, the MFA CEO, feels that most of the criticism is unjustified.

“We have a pool of 13 top referees,” Vassallo replied when asked to explain the criteria for the selection of match officials.

“There is always a percentage of referees who are unavailable due to injury.

“Furthermore, between five to six officials are out of the equation either because they had already officiated the same fixture earlier in the season, are serving a disciplinary decision, or because of a conflict of interest since they would be from Birkirkara or Paola.

“This leaves us with only two to four referees to choose from. They are selected by a unit made up of four specialised officials from our refereeing department.

“We as Malta FA have no doubts about the integrity of the officials, regardless of the episodes that occur during a game.

“However, in this particular match, it is more the selection process that has come under fire.

“Marco Borg is one of the best referees in this country, and God forbids that the integrity of the referee is called into question – if so we might just as well pack it up. But, after all, the referee is a human being and, like everyone else, can make mistakes. And that is beyond everyone’s control.”

Vassallo said that refereeing controversy is part and parcel of the game worldwide.

He rued the fact that the controversial episodes in the dying minutes of Sunday’s match took the shine off what had been an enjoyable footballing experience.

“Organisation-wise, everything was going well and the two sets of fans had been exemplary,” Vassallo said.

“The ref’s performance had been very good until the penalty incident.

“There was contact between the two players, so it was not an imaginary penalty, but in my opinion, at that stage of the game, common sense should have prevailed.

“By saying this, I don’t mean to justify anything, but I have a duty to express my thoughts and feelings as someone who is at the heart of the local football association.”

The fall-out from Sunday’s match encapsulated a season where the negative mood around Maltese football has resulted in a sharp fall in attendances, albeit high-stakes clashes between leading teams can still attract a good turn-out. Over 3,000 fans attended Sunday’s match which was also shown live on TV.

Vassallo believes that the sceptre of the Norway-Malta case has tarnished the image of local football.

“This season has not been easy,” the MFA CEO said.

“We’ve been hit by a match-fixing decision involving the national team. This scandal dealt a massive blow to the credibility of our football. The MFA, through the prosecutor’s office, did everything in its power to solve that case and we shall continue to do everything possible to fight corruption.

“To this end, the MFA will set up a task force that will include the police, government and the gaming authority. The aim is to introduce new legislation which would strengthen the match-fixing fight.

“We also intend to introduce a series of mechanisms, one of which is the promulgation of the integrity clearance certificate for officials, plus the whistleblower regulations.

“Our crusade against match-fixing is non-stop.”

Vassallo also revealed that the MFA is in the process of reforming its regulations to make it easier for clubs to become companies.

“Clubs have shown a desire to turn into a company,” Vassallo said.

“We are discussing with the government to make this possible as we can only attract investment through commercialisation.

“At the next MFA council meeting, on May 10, we will pass the Financial Fair Play Regulations, while we are also in the process of reforming the rules governing the status of players, wage-capping and transfer parameters.

“With the input of the clubs, we will do what has long been overdue.”

Vassallo also called on the clubs to step up their efforts to raise the profile of the local game, stressing that, the first two years of Norman Darmanin Demajo’s presidency, have been very fruitful for the clubs.

“The MFA is paying for the rent of the pitches, is distributing all the income from gate money to clubs, which was not the case in the past, pays match officials, supplies the balls for all matches and reduced entrance prices,” Vassallo said.

While acknowledging that the fans have been very critical of the two-tier format of the top league this season, Vassallo said the MFA has plans to propose a new format.

“If we want to move forward, it doesn’t make a difference if we have eight, 10 or 12 clubs in the Premier League,” Vassallo said.

“The biggest obstacle is our part-time mentality plus the fact that we have 53 clubs in this small country, hence the resources are spread out.”

“We can only raise the standards if the top clubs in the top division move towards a semi-professional status.

“It’s sad that those who, for some reason, fail to reach their objectives, start to point fingers at the MFA.

“This administration has spent around €20 million on club infrastructure because we believe that you must have solid foundations and that investment in grassroots will reap benefits.

“If we implement all the reforms we are proposing, I’m sure that Maltese football will reach new heights, also because the Maltese public loves the game.

“We must appreciate the fact that the MFA is an open organisation, we listen to everyone and try to act in the best possible manner.”

Statistics – Scorers and red cards

Balzan FC – Elton 14 (4 pens); Pedrinho 8 (1 pen); N’Dekre 5; Conceicao 3, Caruana 3, Darmanin 3; Licari 2; Mendy, Deanov, Pace, Forace, Camilleri, Aboulezz.
Red cards: Conceicao (vs Ħamrun, vs Valletta), Licari (vs Hibs), Pace (vs Sliema), Forace (vs Mosta), Camilleri (vs Rabat), Mendy (vs Hibs).

Birkirkara – Jhonnattann 14 (1 pen); Mifsud Triganza 9; Haruna 8 (2 pens); Vukanac 6; R. Muscat 4, Joselito 4; Herrera 3, Camenzuli 3; Sciberras 2, Fenech 2; Z. Muscat, Scicluna, Pereira, Zerafa.
Own goal: Mintoff (vs Sliema).
Red cards: Scicluna (vs Balzan), Fenech (vs Ħamrun,vs Hibs), Herrera (vs Qormi), Haruna (vs Sliema), Mendoza (vs Hibs).

Floriana – Coronado 12; Darmanin 8 (now Balzan); Wasiu 4, Verma 4; Cilia 3, Pisani 3; Alhinho, Brown, Jeffers, Spiteri, Bugeja, Nwoko, C. Borg, J. Borg.
Red cards: Brown (vs Rabat Ajax), K. Farrugia (vs Mosta, vs Rabat Ajax), Alhinho (vs Hibernians).

Ħamrun – Grima 6 (3 pens); Vella 5; Lumbilla 3, Calabretta 3, Camilleri 3 (1 pen), Fenech 3; Lattes 2; Scerri, Bozhov, Zerafa, Spiteri, Yoshev, Borg, Favero.
Own goal: Gribbon (vs Melita).
Red cards: Fenech (vs Floriana, vs Balzan), Cassar (vs Tarxien), Vitanov (vs Sliema), Cassar (vs Qormi), Borg (vs Qormi).

Hibernians – Failla 10 (3 pens), Lima 9 (2 pens); Cohen 7, Farrugia 6; Edison (Tarabai) 4; Pulis 3, Soares 3, Ribeiro 3, Dias 3; Pisani, Levnaic, Nwoba, Kristensen, Camilleri, Bezzina, Kardeck.
Own goals: Guga (vs Ħamrun), Giglio (vs Balzan), Vandelannoite (vs Valletta).
Red cards: Muscat (vs Balzan, vs Valletta), Dias (vs Balzan, vs Birkirkara), Pulis (vs Tarxien, vs Mosta), Nwoko (vs Melita), Soares (vs Valletta, vs Birkirkara).

Melita – Armario Negrin 5 (now Rabat), L. Micallef 5; Galea 4; Cabanillas 2, Tufegdzic 2; Vukanic (pen), Sammut, Sierra Camacho, Borg Olivier, Galea.
Own goal: Pace (vs Balzan).
Red cards: Vukanic (vs Valletta), Sierra Camacho (vs Tarxien Rainbows, vs Qormi), Valenzia (vs Valletta), Sammut (vs Balzan), Caruana Scicluna (vs Mosta), Vella Petroni (vs Qormi), Borg (vs Qormi).

Mosta – Mitev 12 (1 pen); Obiefule 11 (1 pen); Bogdanovic 5 (1 pen); Apap 3; Aboulezz 2, Zongo 2 (1 pen), Campagnoli 2; Bajada, Chiemeka, Maia Dos Santos, Mbonu, Micallef, Vignaroli.
Own goal: Bello-Osagie (vs Qormi).
Red cards: Grech (vs Sliema), Aboulezz (vs Floriana), Dimech (vs Balzan).

Qormi – Bello-Osagie (now Valletta) 8; Effiong 8 (2 pens); Avila Perez 6 (1 pen), Chetcuti 5; Pisani 4, Zarate 4; Spiteri 3, Siritto 3, Thackray 3 (1 pen), Grech 3; Sciberras, Cassar.
Own goal: Tufegdzic (vs Melita).
Red cards: Bondin (vs Rabat), Sciberras (vs Floriana).

Rabat – Armario Negrin 11 (4 pens); Fuster 4; Licari 3; Astrauskas 2, Felice 2 (1 pen), Azzopardi 2; Smeir, Carapic, Borg, Cauchi. Red cards: Borg (vs Floriana), Brincat (vs Sliema).

Sliema – Woods 11 (3 pens); Muchardi 6; Faccini 4; Ruggiero 3, Ciantar 3; A. Muscat 2; El Ghaouti, Barbetti, Timotic, Gatt Baldacchino, Laudisi, Mifsud, Martinelli, Ohawuchi, Zammit.
Red cards: Scerri (vs Floriana), Bonello (vs Floriana), Martinelli (vs Hibs), Zammit (vs Birkirkara).

Tarxien – Bueno 18 (2 pens); Danilo 8; Andrezinho 6; Evaldo 5; Tanti 3; Anonam 2, Leandro 2; Pulo, Bonnici, Bajada, Tulio, Mamo.
Red cards: Danilo (vs Sliema), Evaldo (vs Birkirkara), Andrezinho (vs Hibs), Caruana (vs Sliema).

Valletta – Mifsud 18 (2 pens); Denni 8; Barbosa 7 (3 pens); Toure 6 (1 pen); Gabriel 5, Fenech 5; Caruana 3; Leandro 2, Briffa 2, Zammit 2 (1 pen); Ricardo, Borg, Ogunnuppe, Vandelannoite, Dimech, Bello-Osagie, Falzon.
Own goal: Tufegdzic (vs Melita).
Red card: Vandelannoite (vs Hibs).

Next fixtures

Friday (Hibs Stadium): 6pm Rabat Ajax vs Floriana; 8pm Qormi vs Ħamrun Spartans.
Saturday (National Stadium): 3pm Mosta vs Birkirkara; 5pm Sliema vs Hibs.
Sunday (National Stadium): 3pm Melita vs Balzan; 5pm Valletta vs Tarxien.

Standings

	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
Birkirkara	29	17	8	4	60	22	38
Hibernians	29	18	4	7	61	31	36
Valletta	29	16	8	5	66	25	33
Sliema	29	14	6	9	38	25	30
Tarxien	29	14	6	9	49	43	29
Mosta	29	11	1	17	44	62	17
Floriana	29	11	10	8	42	36	31
Qormi	29	13	4	12	50	45	28
Balzan	29	8	9	12	44	50	20
Rabat	29	4	9	16	28	57	16
Ħamrun	29	6	5	18	33	74	15
Melita	29	3	8	18	24	69	10