A court order has stopped the Pembroke sports club from carrying out what it claims is routine maintenance on one of its football pitches. 

The prohibitory injunction was issued by the courts at the request of Sport Malta and comes in the wake of a dispute over plans to convert one of the club’s five-a-side football pitches into a padel court.

According to Pembroke Athleta president Alex Calleja, police turned up at the club on Monday morning while repairs were being carried out on the pitch's four floodlights.

"They said they had been informed that illegal works were taking place, but when they saw what was actually happening, they left. Two hours later, we received an order from the courts to halt all work, so we complied and didn't fix the two remaining lights," he said.

An image appearing to back up claims that the 'illegal' works were in fact maintenance on floodlights

Calleja said the court order was based on "mistakes and misinformation", and accused Sport Malta of acting hastily without contacting him first.

Pembroke Athleta's plans to convert one of the pitches into a padel court have been met with opposition from parents of children who form part of the football club’s nursery.

A petition to stop the project was launched last week, and on Sunday children from the nursery held a protest, carrying placards pleading for the pitch to be saved, while accusing the club of greed.

“We have taken it upon ourselves to organise this short protest as we want to save our children’s training grounds and save our children’s game,” the parents said in a statement.

Calleja said he was hurt by insinuations that the primary motive of the project was self-enrichment.

"I've put a lot of my own money into the club," he said, adding that the sports club covered the expenses of the nursery, including a €2,000 fine handed to the club after a parent racially abused a player.

Pembroke Athleta currently has 10 padel courts. Calleja had previously told Times of Malta that the project would help the club generate revenue it could use to keep its premises in good shape, insisting that the three five-a-side pitches were more than enough for the football nursery's needs.