Updated 3.10pm with MOC's reply
The reigning Maltese table tennis champion said he feels "tired, betrayed and discarded" after discovering he was left out of the national team competing at the upcoming Small Nations Games this year.
In a strongly-worded Facebook post, athlete and medical student Gabriel Grixti detailed his rigorous training schedule alongside his medical studies and questioned the transparency and fairness of the selection process.
Athletes who were not born in Malta seem to have been preferred over the Maltese, he said, and of the chosen six, only one is Maltese-born.
"I rarely speak out publicly, but this time, I cannot remain silent. The Maltese Olympic Committee has just announced the team for the GSSE Games in Andorra 2025. To my disbelief, I’ve been excluded, despite being the current Maltese national seniors champion," he wrote.
"Let me be clear: even while in my fifth year of medical studies, I have consistently dedicated over 18 hours a week to my sport, sacrificing a lot to train on the table, in the gym, on the track, and in mental preparation. All for one goal: to represent Malta with pride on the international stage."
Grixti highlighted his consistent top performance over the past four years, including three national senior singles titles and the national doubles title this season.
He also emphasised his long-standing commitment to the sport, having won the Maltese Premier League for seven consecutive seasons and represented Malta in international competitions.
"And yet, I’ve been left out," he said.
The six-person team includes Maria-Carmelia Iacob, Viktoria Lucenkova, Dmitrij Prokopcov, Renata Strbikova, Felix Wetzel, and Daniel Bajada.
Grixti said the government and the Olympic committee had already granted four passports to non-Maltese athletes shortly before the 2023 GSSE, and while he disagreed with the decision, he decided to be a team player, despite "not given the chance to play a single point".
"I believed in the promises made for a better tomorrow: that these high-level players would contribute and help develop the sport in Malta - the first of many empty promises. These same players trained with us briefly in 2022, reappeared just before the games in 2023, and vanished right after, not to be seen for two whole years," he said.
"Now we find ourselves in 2025 with these players again reappearing out of nowhere not to represent Malta out of passion or pride, but for pay."
Grixti believes he met all criteria and asked why he, as current national champion, was excluded. He questioned the consistency of the selection criteria and demanded transparency regarding the decision-making process.
"Taxpayer money is being spent on athletes who have never contributed to our sporting community, while Maltese-born athletes who train, sacrifice, and work relentlessly are pushed aside," Grixti wrote, questioning the message this sends to the sporting community.
MOC setting 'higher standard'
In a reply to questions, the Malta Olympic Committee (MOC) stood by its selected team, saying that in the international sports arena, being a national champion is not a high enough standard.
It also accused Grixti of ill-mouthing his fellow athletes with whom he had several opportunities to grow.
"The world of sports changed and keeping the mentality of 'we are small state and I am the national champion' does not fit in the MOC’s vision," a spokesperson said.
"Whilst it is an honour to be the national champion, the MOC is setting a higher standard."
It accused Grixti of "unfounded and incorrect" allegations against the other team members, "just to create hate against Maltese sports and Maltese sportspeople".
"The players Grixti is trying to attack have given back to the country. One of them has been residing since 2011 and she did not just represent Malta but assisted and coached athletes from any academy," the MOC said.
The MOC said that during the last GSSE games held in Malta, Grixti "opted to abandon the team halfway with the excuse to study instead of cheering and supporting the team to victory", and claimed he repeatedly refused to represent Malta in international events.
“Grixti was also offered twice to represent our nation in approved MOC international competitions for evaluation, however he refused to attend. MOC understands and appreciates that he is a student in his final year of University – and we take this opportunity to publicly wish him best of luck for his exams – however, this does not give an advantageous excuse against the other players who attended training and competitions”.
The 2025 Games of the Small States of Europe is scheduled to be held in Andorra la Vella, Andorra between May 26 and 31.