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KEVIN GRECH talks to MFA President Dr Joe Mifsud about the incidents with the Croatian supporters last Wednesday 
After last Wednesday’s incidents, are there plans to change security arrangements at Ta’Qali for domestic and international games?
The security arrangements for last Wednesday’s match were good and normal for such type of match. The Croatian supporters were assigned to the West C Stand and the police searched all those entering the stadium. Items which are not permissible in a football stadium were confiscated. So much so that the only things thrown during the fracas were those which one normally finds in a stand such as seats which incidentally we are obliged to have. All in all, the security measures which are normally taken for an international match were observed. In actual fact, in almost 50 years of international football no such incidents were ever caused by foreign supporters and the last serious incidents caused by Maltese supporters during an international match happened more than 20 years ago. Nevertheless, one always learns from such incidents and therefore for the next international match extra precautions will be taken even if these will most probably prove to be useless.
Did the Maltese supporters instigate the Croats prior to the incidents that broke out after the match?
 Not in the least. Even when the Croat supporters threw a big plastic bottle full of water into the VIP Area the Maltese supporters, who were still enjoying themselves and very peacefully celebrating Malta’s goal, remained calm.
What is the harshest penalty that can be handed down to the Croatian FA?
The FIFA Disciplinary Code establishes that the guest national association is liable to a fine for the improper conduct of its own group of supporters, regardless of the question of culpable conduct or culpable oversight. Although the Code includes a list of sanctions which range from a warning and reprimand to deduction of points and playing a match without spectators, since in this case the match itself was not affected by the incidents and neither the players nor the match officials nor the FIFA Commissioner and the FIFA Referees’ Observer suffered any consequences it is likely that a fine will be inflicted on the Croatian F.A. In establishing the amount of the fine, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee will also probably take into account the fact that most of the missiles thrown by the Croat supporters were directed towards the VIP Area and that an MFA Vice-President and an MFA Executive Committee Member as well as other persons, including a Government Minister, were slightly injured.
Will the Croatian FA be liable to pay damages incurred by the MFA?
The FIFA Disciplinary Committee will probably order the Croatian F.A. to make good for the damages suffered by the Malta F.A.
Have you been in contact with the Croatia FA?
All the Malta F.A. Officials, including myself, were in constant contact with the officials of the Croatian F.A. both during the fracas as well as afterwards until they left the stadium to the airport where they also were assisted by the Malta F.A. representatives. We were worried that some Croatian players or members of the technical staff (there were three Croatian national teams present) or any of the officials of the Croatian F.A. might get insulted and/or injured. However, with full police cooperation and with the cooperation of those Maltese present in the VIP Area and the VIP Parking Area we succeeded in ensuring that the departure of the Croatian teams and officials from the stadium to the airport was very well organized and nothing sinister happened. The President and the General Secretary of the Croatian F.A. were very worried for the behaviour of their supporters who had caused the trouble and whom they qualified as idiots. They also were very apologetic to us for such behaviour and before leaving to the airport they thanked us for our cooperation.
What is the approximate cost of the damage done?
About 600 seats were destroyed. Besides, other damages were caused to the men’s toilets of West Side C. We are still assessing the full amount of the damages since we need to get quotations to carry out the necessary repairs.
The MFA has recently embarked on a campaign to attract more people and families to the stadium for international matches. Will such incidents put off supporters, especially children from attending the stadium?
I believe that what had happened was something exceptional. Trouble only started towards the end of the match because it seems that a few foreign supporters could not understand that the easy victory which seems top have been promised to them was not so easy to achieve after all. This was also due to the excellent support which our players received from the Maltese supporters in the stadium. Besides, trouble was limited to the side where the Croatian supporters were sitting and the only other sector which was affected by the throwing of missiles was the VIP Area.
I am happy to note that for this match, in the Millennium Stand there were more than one thousand young players hailing from our football nurseries and that this incident should not put off our supporters. On the contrary, it should strengthen the will of the Maltese public to support their National Team because it is with their support that their National Team may upset even the strongest opposition. Thus for our last match in this competition against Bulgaria on the 12th October 2005 I expect that more Maltese supporters, including children, will come to the National Stadium to support their National Team.
As for the team, Malta have been playing much better recently and team spirit is very high. Is there a chance of extending the contract of coach Horst Heese?
Mr. Heese, whom I always have believed to be a very good coach, has already decided to stop coaching at the end of this competition. However, I do not exclude that in future the Malta F.A. may still make use of his services especially in our education programmes for Maltese coaches.
Are there any discussions going on with other coaches, Maltese and foreign to replace Heese?
This matter will be discussed in the near future by the Malta F.A. Executive Committee.
Malta can get good results, even with big teams, how can we build on this?
When one considers the size of our country and that of our population and the fact that most of our players play football domestically, such a result should encourage our players to continue training as often and as hard as they can because such a result, and more importantly the performance, are looked upon as a miracle in foreign quarters. Nobody in Europe would have been impressed if Croatia had won the match with a high score but they are very much impressed by what we had succeeded to achieve last Wednesday. On our part we are studying how for the next international competition, which will start within one year, we can strengthen the National Team Players Professional Scheme in order to have more national team players training on a professional basis. However, in order that our players may perform at their best at international level, they need the support of their compatriots from the stands. This is what home advantage is really all about and in fact strong support is considered to be the team’s the 12th player. This applies to all our national selections, including the U/21 and the Women’s national teams. At the same time the Malta F.A. is trying to encourage the re-founding of the National Team Supporters Club to organize the much needed support for our players when the National Teams are playing, especially at home. But we prefer that this is done by the supporters themselves with the help of the Malta F.A. rather than the other way round. I also hope that in the forthcoming matches against Bulgaria many more Maltese will turn up to support our National ‘A’ and U/21 Teams.
Ta Qali photo courtesy www.maltafootball.com
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