Calascione's one-match ban transferred to Briffa

The MFA Disciplinary Commissioner yesterday rescinded the one-match suspension on Birkirkara striker Matthew Calascione and transferred the ban to team-mate Roderick Briffa.

This decision should bring to a close the unending controversy triggered by the incident which led to Calascione's unfair dismissal in Sunday's 4-2 defeat to Hibernians.

Calascione was sent off by referee Joe Attard after being wrongly blamed for the retaliatory foul Briffa committed on Hibs' midfielder Andre Schembri towards the end of the first half.

On Wednesday, the MFA handed Calascione a one-match ban but Birkirkara contested the decision, claiming that this was a case of mistaken identity.

The MFA Appeals' Board convened on Thursday to look into the case and it was satisfied that their claim of mistaken identity had been proved. In view of this, they recommended that Calascione's ban be revoked and imposed on the player who committed the foul, in this case Briffa.

"At Thursday's hearing, the match officials admitted in their report that they were uncertain about the identity of the player who committed the foul," Calascione told The Times yesterday.

"It was clear that this was a case of mistaken identity and the Appeals' Board agreed with this assertion. I am obviously satisfied that my ban has been revoked because I was not involved in that incident.

"I pleaded my innocence on the pitch because I felt that the referee knew that I was not the one who committed the offence. Even the Hibs captain told him I was not the culprit.

"I felt cheated but at the end of the day, everyone commits mistakes. The most important thing is that the mistake has been rectified," Calascione said.

Turning his sights to Monday's important clash with champions Sliema Wanderers, Calascione said: "It is an important one for us. After two defeats, we definitely need to come out of this game with three points in hand.

"Our morale has suffered a bit after two negative outings. Now, we must regroup to regain the unity and focus that were the hallmarks of our excellent start to the season.

"Sliema have a strong team but if we rediscover the sparkle we showed in our early matches, we can do it."