Updated 1.15pm with Repubblika statement

Jean Claude Micallef has vowed retribution against people who leaked a service contract that put him under ministerial scrutiny.

“Everyone will pay for what they tried to do to me,” Micallef, a former Labour MP who now leads the Authority for Maltese Sports (AIMS) said on Saturday.

“Instead of pulling the same rope to move ahead, they try to cast me in a bad light.”

Micallef was reacting to a controversy sparked after Times of Malta revealed that AIMS – a regulatory body tasked with combating match-fixing, among other responsibilities – had hired a former footballer who was previously convicted of attempting to bribe another footballer.

Times of Malta published a service contract for the worker. The four-page document appears to be signed by Micallef, the employee and AIMS’ head of communications.

Micallef denied engaging the employee, despite the contract. One day later, Sports Minister Clifton Grima made it clear he did not want anyone with a bribery conviction working for AIMS.

On Saturday, Micallef blamed Times of Malta for “being led by people” who were out to damage him and AIMS and reiterated that the worker "was not engaged with AIMS in any way."

In a brief intervention on Andrew Azzopardi’s RTK103 radio show, Micallef implied that he was being framed, said the worker in question had a clean criminal record, attacked AIMS’ previous management for having brought Maltese sports to the brink of financial ruin and said he knew who was behind this latest controversy.

He said there was a common person linking this incident to a 2013 misappropriation case he [Micallef] faced which ended with his complete acquittal. 

Micallef did not respond when radio show host Azzopardi asked him if he was referring to retired judge Antonio Mizzi. Mizzi, who chairs the AIMS board, was originally presiding over that court case. 

“The Times was guided by people who had a duty not to leak confidential documents,” Micallef said, adding that the leaked contract had “inconsistencies”, without elaborating.

He said the inconsistencies revealed who was behind the leak and did not exclude disciplinary action against them.

“Instead of using their talents to do good, some of my colleagues in the media contribute to sour grapes,” he said. “I will not be subjected to ridicule.”

Micallef also took aim at the previous management of AIMS, without naming any names.

“Not a single club or entity was registered [with AIMS] in its first three years,” he said.

“When I was appointed, in a matter of hours we extended the registration deadline because had things remained the same, at the end of December all Maltese sports would have been unfinanced as they would not have been registered.”

AIMS was led by another former Labour MP, Luciano Busuttil, until last December when Micallef was appointed. Sources told Times of Malta at the time that Busuttil had clashed with the AIMS board of directors.

Micallef’s appointment by the prime minister was reportedly met with hostility by the AIMS board, which wanted AIMS director Ryan Borg to be given the CEO job. Borg also serves as chief of staff to Sports Minister Clifton Grima. 

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.

Repubblika: We need better protection for whistleblowers

In a statement, rule of law NGO Repubblika condemned Micallef for his threats concerning document leaks. 

"This sort of attitude detracts from the role whistleblowers play in encouraging transparency and responsible action within our institutions," the NGO said.

It noted that the AIMS whistleblower was now facing retaliation instead of protection, saying this was something it had warned about in a 2022 report titled 'Protecting Whistleblowers in Malta'.

The NGO called on legislators to enact new laws to establish an independent whistleblower agency that would help protect such people and provide an avenue for reporting irregularities without fear.