Midfielder Claude Mattocks and the assistant coach and manager of Marsaxlokk FC, Peter Hartshorne were yesterday given suspended jail terms and fined €500 each after they admitted to trying to bribe a goalkeeper last year.

The 29-year-old midfielder who is also an accounts clerk and Mr Hartshorne admitted on March 6, to trying to bribe goalkeeper Matthew Camilleri of Msida St Joseph FC last November.

Police Inspector Angelo Gafà had told the court it was Mr Hartshorne who had told Mr Mattocks to offer the bribe a week before the match was played. The teams drew 1-1.

The officer said that when he first approached Mr Hartshorne about the claim, made by the player they tried to bribe, he had denied it and it was only after he was confronted with Mr Mattocks that he admitted his involvement.

This was not the first time that the midfielder's professional reputation was questioned as he had been found guilty in February last year of doping when he tested positive for a prohibited substance.

The Malta Football Association subsequently ordered the suspension of Mr Mattocks for four months, until May.

The suspension was extended by another eight months starting from this February, after the doping case was reviewed by the Lausanne based Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

Following the arraignment of the two men, the MFA received more allegations of bribery and match-fixing, which have been passed on to the police.

Last Saturday, referee Pierre Saliba was given a six-month jail term suspended for two years after he admitted to trying to fix a decisive match for one of the top six spots in the Championship Pool.

He was the second referee suspended by the MFA. Former referee Joe Attard and Albanian coach Ilir Pelinku had also been suspended after they allegedly tried to fix a UEFA Cup game between Marsaxlokk and Croatian team Slaven Belupo last year.

Similarly, last December, two players from Division One club St George's, Andrea Gatt and Lawrence Mizzi, were given suspended jail terms after admitting to accepting bribes of €1,000 each.

In Mr Gatt's case, the court handed down a one-year term suspended for four years. Mr Mizzi was given an 18-month jail term suspended for four years. They were also fined €500 each.

Vittoriosa Stars vice-president Manwel Ancilleri is facing court proceedings on a similar charge.