A court has ordered Mosta Football Club to evict its premises in Eucharistic Congress Street after it subleased part of the property to third parties to be turned into a restaurant.

Magistrate Joseph Gatt, presiding over the Rent Regulation Board, ordered the eviction after hearing how subleasing was not permitted under the original lease contract.

The court was informed that the property owners entered into a contract with Mosta FC in January 1982 to use the premises as its headquarters, with a specific clause stating that the premises or any part could not be subleased.

Landlady Monica Ellul, who, together with her brother, inherited the property from their father, told the court that, according to the contract, the premises had to be used only as a club and there was an express prohibition regarding subletting.

In summer 2016, they discovered that the club was operating from another place and that the premises had turned into Gianluca’s Pizzeria. She said she never authorised this, adding they had asked the club to leave the premises but they refused, forcing her to initiate court proceedings.

Club president George Galea told the court that the Mosta Football Club had its headquarters in Constitution Street and also operated the football ground. He said the bar in its former premises in Eucharistic Congress Street was run by the club’s committee. It was named Gianluca after his own son.

He insisted there was no contract with third parties for the bar and restaurant.

The court noted, however, that the evidence proved otherwise. Although several members of the club tried to show that the total management of the premises was still their responsibility, they remained silent when confronted with the lease contract between Galea, on behalf of the club, and a certain Ritanne Muscat.

“It is clear that the club seized an opportunity and started doing business. Suffice it to say that the first ‘rent’, according to that agreement, made in secret, was for €10 per day, establishing increases of up to €20 per day… when the club was paying the landlords €7.61 per day,” the magistrate observed.

He added that the club president never attended court sittings after testifying. “In the board’s view, this happened because he was caught with an incorrect testimony,” the magistrate said.

He, therefore, ordered the club to evict the property and cover all the legal expenses related to the case.

Lawyers Michael Camilleri represented the landlords and lawyer Chris Camilleri appeared for the club.