An Intertoto Cup tie Maltese referee Joe Attard controlled in Albania last year is one of 25 matches being probed by UEFA in connection with irregular betting patterns, The Times can reveal.
Replying to a set of questions sent by The Times via e-mail, UEFA's media office confirmed that the 2007 Intertoto Cup first round, second leg match between Albania's Vllaznia Shkoder and NK Zagreb, of Croatia, is being reviewed by the European football governing body due to suspected irregularities linked to illegal betting.
Mr Attard, a former FIFA referee, and Ilir Pelinku, an Albanian coach, were recently named by Malta FA president Joe Mifsud as being allegedly implicated in the unlawful attempt to rig the UEFA Cup match between Marsaxlokk and Croatia's Slaven Belupo earlier this season.
In the 2007 Intertoto Cup, NK Zagreb won the home match, played on June 23, 2-1 but it was Vllaznia who qualified for the second round on away goals following a 1-0 victory in the second leg in Albania a week later. Their winning goal was scored by Arlind Norra after 26 minutes.
Mr Attard was in charge of the second leg with Ingmar Spiteri and Edward Spiteri the two assistant referees.
UEFA simply gave a yes reply when asked whether the 2007 Intertoto Cup match between Vllaznia and NK Zagreb formed part of its investigation into games that attracted irregular betting patterns.
Attempts to contact Mr Attard yesterday were unsuccessful.
UEFA also confirmed that it has initiated an inquiry into the Marsaxlokk-Slaven Belupo case.
"Yes, we are in contact with the Maltese FA, which has submitted the parts of the case file accessible to us," UEFA wrote.
The alleged plot to influence the result of Marsaxlokk-Slaven Belupo came to light during the Malta FA's annual general meeting held on July 27 at the Centenary Hall. Dr Mifsud told a hushed hall that the MFA had been made aware of an attempt by individuals to fix the result of a UEFA club competition match played in Malta earlier in the season. Slaven beat Marsaxlokk 4-0 at Ta' Qali.
At the time, Dr Mifsud did not divulge any other details but at a news conference in late September he identified Mr Attard and Mr Pelinku as the two prime suspects, adding that he was then in a position to give out names after receiving an update on the progress of the police investigation into the matter.
The Malta FA president was non-committal when faced with a question if previous European matches controlled by Mr Attard may have raised suspicion but he promptly reiterated his warning to clubs and individuals to come clean if they possessed information about other match-fixing cases.
At a Malta FA council meeting last month, Dr Mifsud confirmed that the MFA Board to Investigate Corrupt Practices had launched an inquiry into the case. Mr Pelinku, who was relieved of his duties as coach of Division Two club Lija Athletic, and Mr Attard were suspended, pending the outcome of the MFA's probe.
For its part, UEFA announced plans in September to set up a gambling investigation unit after it emerged that 25 European matches were being studied due to irregular betting patterns.
Gianni Infantino, UEFA's legal affairs director, said that the European body was assessing 10 matches from the current season and 15 from last season on suspicion that they might have been affected by irregular betting.
Asked by The Times what stage has the probe reached, UEFA replied: "The investigations for all 25 matches are still running. They are not so easy, as we face a conspiracy of silence in this domain and have to plan and act very smoothly.
"At this stage of the investigations, we cannot go into the details as this might endanger our activities. We hope to finalise some cases by the end of the year or in the first month of next year."