Updated 5pm
Jean Claude Micallef has resigned as CEO of the sports integrity authority just three months after he was appointed.
It follows revelations from Times of Malta that Micallef had engaged a banned footballer to work for the Authority for Integrity in Maltese Sport (AIMS) and was being chased for money by private clients.
“With regret, I have just submitted my resignation letter as Chief Executive of the Maltese Sports Integrity Authority," he said on Wednesday. "I remain committed to being available to the Maltese sporting community, as I always have been".
The former Labour MP's decision comes amid a breakdown in his relationship with the board of AIMS.
Earlier on Wednesday, sports minister Clifton Grima refused the resignation of the authority’s chairman Antonio Mizzi and its secretary Frank Camilleri.
The relationship between the Authority for Integrity in Maltese Sport’s seven-person board and Micallef is known to have begun deteriorating soon after Micallef took on the role in December.
In a letter addressed to Prime Minister Robert Abela and published on his Facebook page, Micallef said he had "no choice but to leave" after the minister refused to accept the resignation of Mizzi, a retired judge.
He said his decision was "effective immediately.”
“This is despite having been tasked with providing a new direction for the Authority to lift it out of the mediocrity it has found itself in since its establishment three years ago,” Micallef wrote.
Micallef said he was the target of “baseless attacks, obscene lies, and systematic manoeuvres”.
Despite this, and despite having limited resources, Micallef told the prime minister he was able to accomplish many things.
He listed 14 achievements to the prime minister that included establishing regular communication with SportMalta, and creating a simplified registration process to the benefit all clubs with the Commissioner for Voluntary Organizations and the MBR.
Micallef also addressed his relationship with Mizzi in the letter, saying he had tried to disuade him from the CEO role by offering a job contract with a salary lower than that of a CEO.
He said “the chairman chose to subject me to a grilling over my personal life”.
“I take this opportunity to thank the employees of the Authority, who showed that when they have clear and genuine direction, they can work in serenity. Thanks to all the sports associations in Malta and to all the athletes who supported me, seeing me strive to raise the sporting standards. To the extent that I was allowed, I gave my strength. But you all understand that I have principles and dignity that no one and nothing can compromise”.
Micallef wrote about the recent controversies in his letter.
He had denied engaging a footballer banned for life over match-fixing despite a contract seen by Times of Malta indicating otherwise.
On the contract Micallef said on Wednesday: “Maliciously, an employee of the Authority stole the document from Sandro Micallef's desk, placed it on the only white table, and took photos that were sent to The Times, making it appear as if it were a legitimate and complete contract”.
“The Times also published the clothing of the pseudo-photographer. Every employee at the Authority knows who it was”.
However Times of Malta can confirm that a journalist for the paper took the photograph of the contract at his own residence and the clothes belong to him.
Micallef thanked the employees of the Authority, the sports associations, and athletes who supported him.
"To the extent that I was allowed, I gave my strength. But you all understand that I have principles and dignity that no one and nothing can compromise," he concluded.