Nadur Youngsters, former secretary and Xewkija player to be charged

Following a meeting of the Executive Committee on Friday, the Malta Football Association has decided to charge former Nadur Youngsters secretary Anthony Sam Portelli and Xewkija Tigers player Peter Buttigieg following their alleged involvement in a case of match-fixing before the GFA First Division match between Nadur Youngsters and Xewkija Tigers on February 7, 2015.

Since Anthony Sam Portelli held the position of secretary, the club will also be charged on the same case. In the mean time, Portelli has been suspended temporarily with immediate effect. Peter Buttigieg has also been suspended temporarily with immediate effect.

The Executive Committee will be putting forward a proposal to the Council to declare George Joseph Sultana persona non-grata so that he will be unable to involve himself in any football activity in Malta or Gozo.

The association said that in order to allow justice to take its course unhindered, no MFA official or employee will be making any further comments on the issue until the process was concluded.

On February 8, the then Nadur Youngsters secretary Anthony Portelli and George Sultana were handed a four-month jail term suspended for two years and fined €1,165 after admitting to attempting to bribe two players before the top-of-the-table clash between Xewkija Tigers and Nadur Youngsters the day before.

Portelli and Sultana admitted in court to attempting to bribe two Xewkija players in an attempt to influence the outcome of a match. They have reportedly agreed to meet two players at a particular place on the eve of the game, only for the police to turn up instead. The accused were then arrested by police and arraigned on Sunday afternoon.