Andrè Schembri (left) beats Dele Alli to the ball at Wembley.

Andrè Schembri’s criticism of the state of Maltese football in the aftermath of the 2018 World Cup qualifying 2-0 defeat to England at Wembley Stadium on Saturday inevitably caused an uproar but, speaking to Times of Malta, MFA general secretary Bjorn Vassallo refrained from commenting on the forward’s outburst.

He said that the association and national team are focusing only on tonight’s 2018 World Cup Group F qualifier against Lithuania in Vilnius.

Given Schembri’s status as one of the most experienced and influential members in the squad, his incendiary comments didn’t go unnoticed by Pietro Ghedin and his team-mates but Vassallo said that such issues are tackled by the coach and his staff.

“If there are any distractions caused by this, it’s the responsibility of the coach and technical staff to deal with it,” Vassallo said when asked for his comments on Schembri’s remarks.

“There is a time and a place for everyone to voice personal opinions, and also a proper time for the MFA to respond and give account of all it has done towards the preparation of all our national teams. And right now is surely not the appropriate time.

“We must assist the team to remain focused on the Lithuania game.”

Interviewed by One TV after the England game, Schembri, who plays for Portuguese club Boavista, expressed his disappointment at the team’s failure to create a decent attack but blamed the whole system for the national side’s struggles.

“This is not the right time to give a reaction. The players and staff are all confident ahead of a difficult away match and an extremely important one for us,” Vassallo continued.

“Everyone here, the team, technical staff and players, is focusing on the game against Lithuania.

“The Malta FA has long identified what the priorities of Maltese football are and I want to reiterate that, when the time is right, we will give a detailed explanation about our work which should lead us to grow in every aspect related to professional football.

“At this moment in time, we need to stay united behind the team without any other agendas.

“In realistic terms, we know what our level is and how far we can go. As always, our priority is for our players to give their 100 per cent and earn respect on the field of play.”