The Malta Football Association is indeed shocked, and rightly so, at the stiff sentences meted out by the Uefa disciplinary board to six youths of the U-21 Malta team for having accepted or being aware of bribes for matches played against Montenegro and the Czech Republic on March 23 and 29 respectively.

Corruption has long been a malaise, both at international and domestic levels.

During my younger days, I was very friendly with an extremely conscientious and upright law student who sailed through with honours. Soon afterwards he was appointed president of a first division football club.

In his new appointment he soon realised that corruption was rampant not only among the players but also members of the committees themselves who conveniently arranged to “sell” matches as the situation demanded.

And who can ever forget, on an international level, the humiliating thrashing when Spain beat Malta 12-1, an 11-goal difference which Spain needed to go through for the World Cup.

To add insult to injury, the MFA disciplinary board had carried out  its investigation behind closed doors and, surprise, surprise, found there were no signs of corruption.

Even when we hosted the Faroe Islands, a group of 18 rocky volcanic islands with a surface area of 1,499 kilometres square and a population of under 50,000 inhabitants we were beaten 2-1.   The Faroe Islands had never won an away game.

I mentioned the two incidents because of the blatant results obtained. Many others had better not be mentioned.

So the latest suspension by Uefa is nothing new to shock the MFA because corruption has been with us for decades.

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