Premier league football team manager reveals €600 monthly salary as match fixing case begins

A local Premier league football team manager charged with match fixing told police that he only earned €600 a month from the role.

This emerged from the testimony of police inspector Elton Taliana before magistrate Grazio Mercieca as the compilation of evidence against Premier league side Pembroke Athletics team manager Uchenna Anyanwu began earlier today.

Anyanwu is accused of conspiracy to commit an offence under the Prevention of Corruption in Sports Act, offering a player of the Mosta Football Club or an official organiser a bribe and complicity in the offence. He was charged less than 24 hours after Pembroke trounced Mosta FC 5-0 in a Premier league match.

During his arraignment, the court was told that the accused, a Nigerian born naturalised Maltese citizen, is currently expecting his fourth child from his Maltese wife.

Inspector Taliana testified that on 10 Februrary at around 4:00pm, he had received a tip off about a rigged match between Mosta and Pembroke.

He was informed that a certain Obinna Obiefule had gone to Mosta's football ground with the intention of approaching players and offering them bribes to throw the match on the instructions of the accused, he said.

“The information that I received was that this player was to play the next day...upon receiving this information I had informed magistrate Antonio Vella and asked him to issue arrest warrants for the players I mentioned.”

Taliana added that the police had also spoken to another player, Victor Lucky, who had denied ever speaking to the accused.

He had sent one team of police to search for the players at their accommodation in Naxxar, whilst he had taken another group of officers to Mosta FC, where Lucky was arrested and taken to a police station for questioning.

The police had obtained a warrant for Anyanwu's arrest and had found him in a Naxxar apartment which he shared with other players.

The inspector had asked the accused how much he earns at Pembroke. “He said he gets €600 a month.”

Vittoriosa player Obuna Obiefule also testified today, saying that the accused is a friend of his and that they had known each other in Nigeria, before coming to Malta. He confirmed that the accused works with Pembroke Athletic FC. Asked if he knew what his friend had been arrested for, he replied that it had “something to do with match fixing.”

There was a light hearted moment in the courtroom as inspector Robert Vella dutifully asked the witness whether he was involved in match fixing himself and received a reply to the negative. “We knew what your answer to that would be.”

The witness said the players shared accommodation and paid their rent together.

The accused had unsuccessfully tried to convince Mosta FC player Chinatu Francis, who reportedly refused the offer of a bribe, the police inspector said.

A Cameroonian player from Mosta FC had told him of a meeting involving persons involved in match fixing that had occurred before the match, Obiefule said.

“I don't know their involvement but these people are the people who we heard later were involved in match fixing,” he said, explaining that their role was to bring in foreign players and sponsor the club. “They bring foreigners regularly and they play some of the foreigners.”

These people would sometimes visit the training grounds, but had left Vittoriosa after five games. They used to pay him his wages, he said. “At that time I was getting €900 per month in cash.”

The case continues. Police Inspectors Elton Taliana and Robert Vella are prosecuting. Lawyer David Camilleri appeared for the accused.