Four brothers and a man from a different family were this afternoon charged with the free-for-all-fight in Cospicua yesterday in the aftermath of an argument during a five-a-side football match the previous evening.
The court heard the fight broke out between the Brincat and Dalli/Cassar families which escalated so much that some 30 people were involved.
The first arraignment was that of Kenneth Brincat, 44, from Senglea, who was charged with participating in the fight and with being in possession of a knife during the fight.
He pleaded not guilty and was granted bail against a deposit of €500 and a €2,000 personal guarantee.
Later, the police arraigned four brothers, over their involvement in the massive fight that took place outside the Cospicua police station.
The accused are: Fredrick Dalli, a 32-year-old car dealer from Cospicua, and his brothers Charlston Cassar, 22, Redent Cassar, 20, and their 17-year-old brother, who cannot be named as he is a minor.
The brothers sported various tattoos on their necks, arms and hands with one them sporting a tattoo on his neck that read: "F**k the Police".
They were all charged with assaulting and insulting people and breaching the peace. Mr Dalli was also charged with incitement to commit a crime.
Charlston and Redent Cassar, with the latter telling the court he did not know the address where he lived, were further charged with the attempted murder of Stephen Brincat, who is the brother of Kenneth who was arraigned first.
The prosecution is alleging that they hit him on the head with a metal pipe and a wooded stick, grievously injuring him. They were also accused of seriously injuring Omar Ellul during the fight.
Lawyer Veronique Dalli explained that the argument between the "two clans" started during a football match at the Senglea pitch on Monday evening. The game had to be abandoned after just 15 minutes.
She alleged that yesterday, members of the Brincat family went to Cospicua with a wooden plank in hand and started threatening to kill the Cassars and Mr Dalli. She said her clients tried to avoid trouble so they went to Qormi to allow the situation to calm down.
When they returned to Cospicua, the massive fight broke out when they found the Brincats waiting for them in Piazza Gavino Gulia.
She said Charlston Cassar reacted to the death threats and the situation quickly got out of hand.
Police Inspector Josric Mifsud, however, said the police had a different version to the lawyer's. He said the police is in possession of CCTV footage showing the Cassar and Dalli brothers walking down the road with metal pipes and wooden sticks. He said the police had to separate the two families by forcing them into the police station's garage until police reinforcements arrived.
Magistrate Vella only upheld the bail request for Mr Dalli and the teenager as their crimes were contraventions, against a deposit of €500 and a €2,000 personal guarantee.
The other two brothers with the more serious charges were remanded in custody.