Maltese football matches will be played as scheduled this weekend after the Malta Football Referees Association (MFRA) announced that they had withdrawn their strike scheduled for Friday.

On Wednesday, the Malta Football Referees Association (MFRA) said its members would strike unless it received assurances in writing from the Malta Football Association (MFA) that their fees will go up as of next season.

The MFRA's announcement on Wednesday came somewhat as a surprise after they had also revealed that they had reached an agreement in principal with the Malta Football Association over an improved package of fees for referees for next season.

On Thursday, the Malta FA met again with a group of match officials, who acted as intermediaries in the negotiations with the MFRA, and the agreement was finally rubberstamped with the MFA Executive Committee expected to confirm the new deal next week.

In a statement, the MFRA announced that an agreement was reached.

"The MFRA would like to announce that after six difficult months, an agreement was reached and we will be given the increase we fully deserve.

"We would like to thank the group of four intermediaries that represented the MFRA.

"Now it's time to focus on the end of the season and leave these problems behind us."

The dispute between the MFA and the MFRA had been ongoing for several months, with the referees body pushing to get its members their first fee increase since 2011.

The MFA football programme this weekend kicks off on Friday with three matches from the BOV Premier League, including the key encounter between Hibernians and Birkirkara. There are also two matches from the Second Division.