Sports integrity body CEO denies hiring banned footballer, despite contract
Ex-footballer admits interviewing for job, but claims he heard nothing since
The CEO of the Authority for Integrity in Maltese Sport, Jean-Claude Micallef denied engaging a footballer banned for life over match-fixing despite a contract seen by Times of Malta indicating otherwise.
The contract of service shows that Jermain Brincat, who was found guilty of attempting to bribe a player in 2013, was engaged by AIMS last month to provide services related to video editing.
The four-page contract appears to be signed by Micallef (on behalf of AIMS) and Brincat and is witnessed by the authority’s spokesperson, Sandro Micallef.
The contract says Brincat will be paid €9,900 for 'Audiovisual editing services for TV and social media content related advisory services to the Authority for Integrity in Maltese Sport'.
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Sources within AIMS said the contract is genuine, with Micallef’s signature on the contract and his signature on other publicly available documents appearing to be similar.
However, Micallef denied that Brincat has any relationship with the authority, be it as an employee or as a contractor.
“Jermain Brincat is not an employee of AIMS,” he said, when contacted.
Asked to clarify, he said Brincat had not been engaged either as an employee or a self-employed contractor, adding he has no professional relationship with AIMS.
In 2013, Brincat, a Floriana FC player at the time, was found guilty by the Malta Football Association of attempting to bribe Naxxar Lions defender Sunday Eboh. He was handed a lifetime ban alongside other players.
Contacted for comment, Brincat said he had applied for the role at AIMS after seeing a call in the Government Gazette. He was invited for an interview for the role where Sandro Micallef and AIMS director Ryan Borg were present.
“That was the last I heard of the matter,” he said.
AIMS, which began operations in February 2022, is responsible for testing athletes for doping and ensuring they do not take prohibited substances. It also works against match-fixing and plays a role in the fight against money laundering in sports.
Luciano Busuttil was CEO of the authority until recently when his testy relationship with the AIMS board led to his departure with Micallef taking over in December.
Micallef was the prime minister’s office man of choice for the position but his appointment was met with hostility by many in the AIMS board.
Sports Minister Clifton Grima tabled Micallef’s contract in parliament in January in response to a parliamentary question by Nationalist MP Albert Buttigieg.
It shows that Micallef is earning a basic yearly salary of €50,000 with a €1,000 annual increase. Micallef also has a €6,000 expense allowance, €1,800 communication allowance and the use of a car or a €4,658 transport allowance.