The Malta Football Association (MFA) has formally accepted Joseph Portelli’s resignation as president of Ħamrun Spartans FC, paving the way for the club to register him as a player and inching him a step closer to playing in the league.
The window for Premier League player transfers closes today.
Sources told Times of Malta that the Malta FA is still likely to refuse his registration as a player and refer the case to its ethics committee.
It would then be for the committee to decide whether Portelli can wear the black and red stripes and walk onto the pitch during Ħamrun’s final premier league match later this year.
The MFA’s Reputational Risk Management Policy states that registrations which “could be deemed as potentially damaging for the reputation of the association” can be referred to its ethics committee.
The construction magnate would like to play for a few minutes in one of the final matches after the team had amassed enough points to secure the title.
Some football clubs and Malta Premier League chair Joseph Muscat have reportedly urged him to desist.
But Portelli is going ahead with his plan, arguing that he has dreamt of playing in the premier league since he was a child.
In his first public comments about the controversy on Sunday, he told Times of Malta that he played for the Under-16s national team as a youngster and would probably be playing in the league anyway, had he not stopped playing for personal reasons.
Portelli also hit back at critics who said his decision to play for the club would ridicule Maltese football. People who wanted to mock the game would not invest €1.5 million annually in a local team, he said.
On Saturday, international sports lawyer Carlo Rombolà wrote to the MFA urging it to accept Portelli’s wish, telling president Bjorn Vassallo not to stop the magnate’s dream.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Sports Minister Clifton Grima attempted to dodge a question on the issue, saying it is up to the MFA to decide.
He added, however, that he would not personally do what Portelli was attempting to do.
“I believe that an individual should stick to the role they have,” he said.