There was little doubt he would refuse to throw in the towel. Even as he lay prostrate at the centre of the political arena with ‘scandal’ written all over his face, Joseph Muscat remained defiant, resolute that, somehow, he would make a comeback.
That opportunity has been handed to him by the Malta Professional Football Clubs Association. Although, according to unofficial information, he just made it through with seven votes for, four against and three abstentions, the ‘King’ pompously declared on social media he “will let the results speak for themselves”. Muscat is used to victories after all.
Rather than avoid the limelight, the former prime minister continues to address his ‘loyal subjects’ as if the “results” of his seven years in power did not include a murdered journalist, institutionalised nepotism and a huge web of corruption. Since the shadow continues to loom over Muscat, one can only wonder what the members of the association, including Premier League football club presidents, had in mind when they voted for him.
Did they want to put in place a thief to catch a thief? After all, football has a reputation for being rife with corruption.
A few years back, an international study by the global players’ union, Fifpro, found that nearly one of every six footballers playing in Malta’s top division had been approached to fix a match sometime throughout his career. It also resulted that the number of such instances happening here was more than double the global average – Malta was classified eighth highest among the 53 countries analysed.
This state of affairs had been confirmed by a former Malta Football Association integrity officer.
Franz Tabone, who stepped down in early 2020 after almost nine years in office, had said that some clubs “finance their entire operation by manipulating matches, betting on them and the winnings going towards the club while also lining their own pockets”. Of course, the situation could possibly have improved since. But don’t bet on it.
Muscat is invited to wade into this mess. The footballing body he will be chairing on a “voluntary” basis is set to assume the responsibility of running the Premier League, which is now done by the MFA.
Muscat can certainly be credited with being a doer and is known for his ‘good’ connections.
But the allegations made along the years, coupled with evidence in court and the damning conclusions of the Daphne Caruana Galizia public inquiry, should have been automatic red cards, banning him from this new role.
The record shows that, on his watch as prime minister, state capture, greed, sleaze and impunity were happening all around him, practically out in the open.
That record alone should have automatically disqualified him from being considered for the helm of an important sport body, even more so if it could pave the way for him to take over the administration of Malta’s top football league. Let us not forget that a number of unsavoury characters are directly involved with football clubs these days.
Before pledging to bring about a more sustainable Premier League and introducing the concept of solidarity, Muscat should first ask to be investigated for the wrongdoings he is alleged to have committed. Before that happens and he is cleared, the Malta Professional Football Clubs Association can be considered to have scored an own goal. Rather than cleaning up its act, local football has now invited him to potentially make the ugly side of the ‘beautiful game’ even uglier.