Imagine having all the money in the world but still not being able to fulfil your childhood dream because you are too old and unfit to play professional football. That is a true story and it happened to Joseph Portelli, by his own account.
At first, the construction magnate thought he could quench his thirst by throwing his money around to buy a football club. Alas, this clearly was not enough. His inner child was not satiated.
So the president of Ħamrun Spartans FC “agreed” with his coach to let him play in the team’s final match of the league, just for a few minutes, after the club wins enough points to secure the title. To do this within the rules, he stepped down as president and wanted to sign up as an official footballer. He did all that with not an ounce of shame.
His quest did not surmount the hurdle of the Malta Football Association’s ethics committee.
As evidenced by a vox pop carried out last weekend, the club’s fans saw nothing wrong in Portelli becoming a professional football player at the club, which is heading towards the second champions’ trophy under his ownership.
Clearly, Portelli did not understand or care about the implications that his “dream” would have had on the image of Maltese football. It was humiliating for the MFA to even be faced with a decision about whether to accept him as a player or not.
Remember, this is a contractor who openly admitted in a Times of Malta interview that he meets politicians “every day” and thinks Malta needs “100 years more of development”.
The sad reality is that his behaviour reflects the norms of behaviour adopted by those who wield power in today’s Malta. We have repeatedly seen politicians try to justify corrupt deals by pointing to the supposed benefits those deals have brought the country.
We have repeatedly seen construction tycoons and rich businessmen throw their money around to fulfil their dream, at whatever cost to the environment and society in general.
We have repeatedly seen a mockery of rules and enforcement because money ultimately trumps all.
How many times have we seen businessmen steal public land knowing they could get away with a measly daily fine, if at all? How many times have we seen the usual suspects being accused of money laundering crimes, knowing justice will never catch up with them?
We know the rule book of many tycoons by now – invest or throw money at the village festa or a football club, even help out certain good causes – and in the process win the hearts and support of thousands who end up selling their homes, their land, sometimes even their own values in return for money.
Is Malta capable of drawing a line somewhere with those who expect to get what they want by paying for it?
How long can we continue to make a mockery of the rule of law and good governance where the taxpayer inevitably ends up footing the bill to clean up the mess?
Portelli has undoubtedly been a godsend for Ħamrun Spartans but his latest ploy lacked all respect for the football community. It also makes one wonder whether his decision to build the highest tower in Malta made good business sense or was purely ego-driven.
We can only hope that Portelli has no childhood dream to become prime minister one day. This story has parallels to Silvio Berlusconi’s, who rose to power, bought a football club, and for years repeatedly dodged the wheels of justice, despite his dodgy dealings.