An Instagram video posted by a Malta Eurovision Song Contest singer was deleted on Friday, almost a week after Aidan Cassar’s disqualification for unauthorised social media posts.
Contestant Mikhail Attard quietly deleted an Instagram reel on Friday evening which showed the singer in the passenger seat of a car listening to his entry, Leħen iċ-Ċpar, over the car’s speakers.
In the video which has been seen by Times of Malta, Attard thanked his fans for their positive feedback on the full release of his Eurovision track while teasing his possible performance in the upcoming semi-finals.
“You’ve seen nothing yet,” he said as his song played in the background.
According to PBS regulations, contestants are forbidden from posting to social media from the announcement of the quarter-finalists onwards - November 21, 2022.
Every contestant signed a declaration stating they have read the rules and shall observe them.
A screenshot of Attard’s Instagram profile shows that he posted the now-deleted clip sometime between January 13 and January 22 and also indicates that it was still online until Friday, January 27, when he posted his most recent Instagram reel.
Aidan Cassar disqualified
One of the frontrunners in the competition, Cassar was kicked out of the event on Monday for what PBS said were unauthorised posts on social media about his song. By Monday afternoon, clips of Aidan’s track were taken down from the contest’s online portals.
On Thursday, Cassar sent a legal letter to PBS arguing that he had been singled out, as other contestants also posted content centring on their participation. At the time, Attard’s video was still available online.
Cassar’s lawyers - Franco Debono, Marion Camilleri and Charles Mercieca - are demanding that PBS immediately freeze its decision to disqualify him and set up a meeting between the contest organisers and singer to allow him to make his case – or face further legal action.
Yet, PBS came back with a legal response of its own. Through their lawyers Edward Gatt, Mark Vassallo, Carlos Bugeja and Shaun Zammit, the broadcaster said the decision to disqualify him "is final" since he was in blatant breach of the regulations.
PBS say they have documents showing that Cassar had been asked to stop. But the Reġina singer has said that he was told by PBS executive chairman Mark Sammut that he would be disqualified unless he removed the “wrong post”, without any further clarification.
"I told him I was not informed about any wrong post, to which he [Sammut] replied 'it's in your hands' (f'idejk)," Cassar said.
Cassar’s socials still feature posts promoting his local Eurovision journey. His most recent post is a video that was posted on January 20 and features Aidan and his dancers rehearsing for his performance.
Attard declined to comment when contacted and instead directed questions to PBS.
Cassar also declined to comment when contacted about the video.
PBS did not immediately respond to questions about the video or its enforcement of rules concerning social media posts.