Premier League clubs Floriana and Ħamrun Spartans will be deducted two points if they don’t honour their financial obligations to Birkirkara and two former players by noon on Friday.
The deadline has been set by the Malta FA Control and Disciplinary Board after the two Premier League clubs failed to heed repeated calls to regularise their position.
At the Malta FA council meeting yesterday, Floriana were warned that they will be docked two points if they fail to pay Birkirkara the sum of €20,000 for the transfer of midfielder Thomas Paris and the wages owed to former English defender Aaron Brown by Friday’s deadline.
The same applies to Ħamrun Spartans over outstanding monies to Birkirkara for the loan transfer of Malta striker Terence Vella and unpaid salaries to former captain Rupert Mangion.
A two-point penalty is the last thing Floriana and Ħamrun need in their on-going battle against relegation from the Premier League.
The MFA Control and Disciplinary Board has also issued bans against two players who have failed doping tests.
Clyde Camoin, who began the season with Mqabba but joined Qormi in January, has been suspended for two years while Naxxar Lions midfielder Mattia Del Negro has been banned for three months after both tested positive for social drugs.
The Malta FA didn’t specify which drugs the two players have tested positive for but the disparity in the punishments meted out to Camoin and Del Negro leaves no room for doubt as to which was the more serious case.
Also yesterday, Malta FA CEO Bjorn Vassallo said preparations for the eagerly-awaited 2014 World Cup qualifier against Italy on March 26 are in full swing.
Expectations of a sell-out crowd are likely to be met as, with just over three weeks remaining for the match at the National Stadium, there are only around 2,500 tickets left.
Tickets for the Millennium Stand, South Stand and North Stand are on a free-seating basis while those for the West Stand (Enclosure) have allocated seats.
“We knew that there was going to be a huge demand for tickets, not only from fans, but also in terms of protocol,” Vassallo said.
Vassallo also confirmed that FIFA have turned down the MFA’s request to allow a number of officials and sponsor representatives to attend Malta’s away qualifier against Bulgaria on March 22.
In January, FIFA ordered Bulgaria to play their next 2014 World Cup qualifier behind closed doors after their fans directed racist remarks at a Denmark player during their encounter in October. Bulgaria were also fined over the incident.
Meanwhile, Norman Darmanin Demajo, the Malta FA president, spoke about the judicial protest the Kummissjoni Nazzjonali Persuni b’Diżabilita (KNPD) has filed against local football’s governing body for failing to provide adequate access to the National Stadium’s Enclosure Side.
KNDP case
Darmanin Demajo said discussions with the KNPD over the issue stretch back several years.
The MFA president explained that the enclosure side, which also incorporates the VIP zone, was built in the eighties whereas the Millennium Stand, which was rebuilt just over a decade ago, has all the amenities for disabled persons.
“It’s not easy to address the KNPD concerns as, to carry out the required works, the West Stand would have to be virtually demolished,” Darmanin Demajo said.
“We’ve told them that we’re willing to open the Millennium Stand to accommodate disabled persons. At this moment in time, it’s not feasible for the MFA to undertake the alterations in the West Stand.”
Darmanin Demajo also referred to The Times editorial of February 25, entitled ‘More transparency in football’.
The editorial focused on the UEFA solidarity payments issue after the MFA Board of Internal Auditors found that, between seasons 2002-03 and 2006-07, the association, then under the helm of Joe Mifsud, retained a portion of these payments without the clubs’ approval.
The editorial claimed that the MFA’s practice to allocate part of these payments to the Youth FA and Gozo FA was not in sync with UEFA’s guidelines and therefore this is still deemed to be misappropriation of funds.
The MFA president said this statement is inaccurate as, whereas the clubs had been kept in dark about the money withheld by the MFA, they had agreed to give part of their allocations to the Youth FA and GFA.
“This is not a case of misappropriation of funds because it is being done with the consensus of the council members and the clubs,” Darmanin Demajo claimed.
Scorers and red cards
Balzan Fc
Elton 14 (4 Pens); Pedrinho 8 (1 Pen); N’Dekre 3, Caruana 3; Licari 2, Darmanin 2; Mendy, Deanov, Pace, Forace, Camilleri, Conceicao.
Red Cards: Conceicao (Vs Ħamrun, Vs Valletta), Licari (Vs Hibs), Pace (Vs Sliema), Forace (Vs Mosta), Camilleri (Vs Rabat), Mendy (Vs Hibs).
Birkirkara
Jhonnattann 10 (1 Pen); Mifsud Triganza 9; Haruna 7 (2 Pens); Vukanac 5; Herrera 3; Joselito 3; Camenzuli 3; R. Muscat 2, Sciberras 2, Fenech 2; Z. Muscat, Scicluna.
Red Cards: Scicluna (Vs Balzan), Fenech (Vs Ħamrun), Herrera (Vs Qormi), Haruna (Vs Sliema).
Floriana
Darmanin 8 (Now Balzan); Coronado 5; Wasiu 4, Verma 4; Cilia 2; Alhinho, Brown, Jeffers, Spiteri, Bugeja, Nwoko.
Red Cards: Brown (Vs Rabat), K. Farrugia (Vs Mosta, Vs Rabat), Alhinho (Vs Hibs).
Ħamrun Spartans
Grima 5 (3 Pens), Vella 5; Lumbilla 3, Calabretta 3; Camilleri 2 (1 Pen); Scerri, Bozhov, Zerafa, Spiteri, Yoshev, Lattes, Fenech, Borg.
Own Goal: Gribbon (Vs Melita).
Red Cards: Fenech (Vs Floriana, Vs Balzan), Cassar (Vs Tarxien), Vitanov (Vs Sliema), Cassar (Vs Qormi).
Hibernians
Lima 8 (2 Pens); Cohen 7, Failla 7; Farrugia 5; Pulis 3, Ribeiro 3, Dias 3; Soares 2; Pisani, Levnaic, Nwoba, Kristensen, Camilleri, Bezzina, Kardeck.
Own Goals: Guga (Vs Ħamrun), Giglio (Vs Balzan).
Red Cards: Muscat (Vs Balzan), Dias (Vs Balzan), Pulis (Vs Tarxien, Vs Mosta), Nwoko (Vs Melita), Dias (Vs Birkirkara), Soares (Vs Valletta).
Melita
Armario Negrin 5 (Now Rabat); L. Micallef 4; Galea 3; Vukanic (Pen), Sammut, Sierra Camacho, Cabanillas, Tufegdzic, Cabanillas.
Own Goal: Pace (Vs Balzan).
Red Cards: Vukanic (Vs Valletta), Sierra Camacho (Vs Tarxien), Valenzia (Vs Valletta), Sammut (Vs Balzan), Caruana Scicluna (Vs Mosta), Vella Petroni (Vs Qormi).
Mosta
Obiefule 11 (1 Pen); Mitev 9; Bogdanovic 5 (1 Pen); Aboulezz 2, Apap 2, Zongo 2 (1 Pen), Campagnoli 2; Bajada, Chiemeka, Maia Dos Santos, Mbonu, Micallef.
Own Goal: Bello-Osagie (Vs Qormi).
Red Cards: Grech (Vs Sliema), Aboulezz (Vs Floriana), Dimech (Vs Balzan).
Qormi
Bello-Osagie (Now Valletta) 8; Pisani 4, Zarate 4; Spiteri 3, Siritto 3, Chetcuti 3, Avila-Perez 3; Effiong 2, Thackray 2; Grech, Effiong.
Own Goal: Tufegdzic (Vs Melita).
Red Card: Bondin (Vs Rabat).
Rabat Ajax
Armario Negrin 7 (2 Pens); Astrauskas 2, Fuster 2, Felice 2 (1 Pen), Licari 2; Smeir, Carapic, Borg, Cauchi.
Red Cards: Borg (Vs Floriana), Brincat (Vs Sliema Wanderers).
Sliema Wanderers
Woods 10 (3 Pens); Muchardi 5; Faccini 4; Ruggiero 3, Ciantar 3; A. Muscat 2; El Ghaouti, Barbetti, Timotic, Gatt Baldacchino, Laudisi, Mifsud, Martinelli, Ohawuchi.
Red Cards: Scerri (Vs Floriana), Bonello (Vs Floriana).
Tarxien Rainbows
Bueno 15 (2 Pens); Danilo 8; Evaldo 5, Andrezinho 5; Anonam 2, Tanti 2; Pulo, Bonnici, Bajada, Leandro, Tulio.
Red Cards: Danilo (Vs Sliema), Evaldo (Vs Birkirkara), Andrezinho (Vs Hibs).
Valletta
Mifsud 16 (2 Pens); Gabriel 5, Denni 5; Toure 4, Fenech 4, Barbosa 4 (1 Pen); Caruana 3; Leandro 2, Briffa 2, Zammit 2 (1 Pen); Ricardo, Borg, Ogunnuppe, Vandelannoite, Dimech, Bello-Osagie.
Own Goal: Tufegdzic (Vs Melita).
Next Fixtures
Tuesday, March 12
Hibs Stadium: 18.00 Ħamrun Vs Qormi; 20.00 Tarxien Vs Valletta.
Tedesco Stadium: 18.00 Floriana Vs Rabat; 20.15 Balzan Vs Melita.
Wednesday, March 13
National Stadium: 18.00 Birkirkara Vs Mosta; 20.00 Hibernians Vs Sliema.