Request to make Ta Qali stadium more disabled friendly turned down by court

The judge ruled that the request was not a reasonable one and that not every inconvenience amounted to discrimination

The judge ruled that the KNPD's submission was not a reasonable one
The judge ruled that the KNPD's submission was not a reasonable one

A judge has turned down a request by the National Commission for Disabled Persons (KNPD) requesting that the court order the Malta Football Association (MFA) carry out works at Ta Qali Stadium to make it more wheelchair accessible.

It was four years ago that the KNPD had filed the lawsuit in the First Hall of the Civil Court against the MFA, due to the West Stand, known as the “Enclosure side” of the stadium being impassable to the disabled.

The KMPD had asked the court to declare that the MFA was discriminating against disabled persons and order it to carry out works that would render it accessible to wheelchair users.

On its part the MFA insisted that wheelchairs could access the stadium from the East Stand, better known as the Millenium Stand, adding that the request was unreasonable in the circumstances.

An architect had prepared a report on the works that would be necessary for the Enclosure to be made wheelchair accessible and had given an estimate of the cost to be a €250,000 million. Sections of the stadium would have had to be demolished and rebuilt and a lift installed.

Judge Anna Felice, after personally visiting the stadium and carefully examining the evidence, pronounced herself of the opinion that although the KNPD may have been right when it complained, one could not ignore the measures taken by the MFA to ensure disabled access to the stadium.

The accessibility of the Enclosure area had improved since the case had been filed, noted the court, saying that today it was only the bar area of this stand that was not wheelchair accessible. Just because the court expert had found it to be less favourable for the disabled, this did not mean that they were being discriminated against, said the court.

There were also insurmountable logistical obstacles to the demolition and reconstruction of the part of the stadium in question with works having to be completed over the few weeks in summer that games aren’t being held there.

The judge ruled that the demand for vast structural changes to the stadium was not a reasonable one, pointing out that “not every inconvenience amounts to discrimination.”

“One must bear in mind the fact that this is the only stadium in Malta that can host matches by leading teams, both in terms of numbers of spectators and in terms of security,” said the court as it dismissed the KNPD’s claim.