Sliema football player acquitted of bribery allegations

A former Sliema Wanderers football player has been acquitted by a court of trying to bribe a teammate for the team to lose a decider game against Qormi in 2010.

Ian Ciantar was accused of having offered a bribe to Ian Azzopardi. The game was played on June 1, 2010 and Sliema won 2-0.

In court, it emerged that then Sliema Wanderers president Steve Abela had filed a report alleging that Ciantar approached Azzopardi and offered him Lm1,000 (about €2,300) two days before the decider to allow Qormi FC to win.

Ciantar had denied the allegations. He told investigators that on June 8, 2010 Azzopardi requested to meet him. They met at Baystreet and Azzopardi told him he had been forced to file a police report.

Ciantar also told the police that Azzopardi told him that the committee made him say that the accused approached him and offered him a bribe.

In court, Azzopardi said that in May 2010, Ciantar approached him at Melita FC training grounds and offered him Lm1,000. He declined the offer and informed the Sliema Wanderers committee. 

Azzopardi told the court that Ciantar did not mention anything as to what the Lm1,000 were for.

Under cross-examination, Azzopardi said the offer came about two days before the game. A week earlier the players were warned that they could be approached to give away the game and he promised the president that if approached he would inform him right away.

Abela also testified in court, saying that before the game, Azzopardi informed him that Ciantar had approached him to “sell out the game that was scheduled for the day”.  The then club’s secretary, Clifton Grima, advised Abela to file a police report.

The club’s former coach, Mark Marlow, explained that the match in question would have determined who would compete in the Europa League. He explained that a day before the match, Azzopardi had informed him that he had been approached but did not mention any names. There was a second meeting, and he did not reveal the name. Eventually, he revealed that it was Ciantar.

The club’s PRO Ivan Calleja, testified that some players had been approached. On the eve of the game, they (the club) bluffed about having paid to obtain information on the players getting bribed. However, they did not have such information, and Ciantar was never mentioned.

Ciantar took the witness said and explained that he had been playing for Sliema Wanderers since he was eight years old. For the 2009-2010 season, he had an agreement with the club’s president that he would be vice-captain of the team. He played three matches after which he was never called to play. He was a full-time professional footballer with Sliema and had a salary. However, the club had not paid him for six or seven months.

After he approached Abela to get paid, he was not chosen to play.

Ciantar said that he had got to know about the allegations about him from the media. On match day, he called Abela, who instructed him not to turn up at the game.

He also testified about the call he got from Azzopardi and the meeting at Baystreet where the latter told him that he was “forced” to name him. Ciantar also denied approaching Azzopardi ahead of the game.

The court in its considerations observed that the accused had described the allegations as untrue. He had described how the case had been a personal trauma which ruined his football career.

Moreover, Ciantar did not seek civil or criminal action against Azzopardi.

The court observed that Azzopardi’s version of events was generally consistent, however, had he wanted to give the story more colour he would have added details such as on who's behalf Ciantar was acting and why he used Maltese Lira when the euro had already been in force for some two years.

“Everything indicates that while Azzopardi was ready to name the accused with the club’s management so as not to lose his place on the team, he held back once a police report was filed,” the court observed.

The court also pointed out a number of inconsistencies in Azzopardi’s testimony and the club’s “amateurish” way of dealing with corruption rumours by trying to catch players out and telling them they had paid for information or that someone was ready to speak out.

If the club was prepared to threaten, bluff and fabricate a story and attribute criminal behaviour to other individuals, it would not be such a big deal for the club to manoeuvre or at least corner Azzopardi and force him to save his place on the team by making this allegation.

The court therefore acquitted Ciantar after highlighting a number of inconsistencies and ruling that it was not morally convinced of Azzopardi’s testimony.

The court ordered that a copy of the judgment be sent to the Malta Football Association. Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech presided.

Police inspector Wayne Rodney Borg prosecuted.