Farrugia Sacco claims newspaper implicated him in ‘widespread corruption’

A Judge implicated in an undercover sting by the Sunday of Times of London, today accused the Times of Malta of having defamed him after reporting that he was in the company of ticket resellers attempting to wrangle Sochi winter Olympics tickets from the Malta Olympic Committee for resale to the Middle East for €60,000.

Lino Farrugia Sacco told the court of Magistrate Francesco Depasquale today that the Times' reports of 18 and 19 June had alleged 'widespread corruption' when using his name, and that of MOC secretary-general Joe Cassar.

Farrugia Sacco is the president of the MOC, but the judge also faces an inquiry by the Commission for the Administration of Justice, after an impeachment motion was presented by the Prime Minister to the commission. He is accused of being in breach of the judges' code of ethics for refusing to resign his post as MOC president.

The judge was assisted by lawyers Alex Sciberras, and his son David Farrugia Sacco, a Labour candidate.

In his testimony, Farrugia Sacco said that a film published by the Times - originally produced by the London Sunday Times - had been "heavily censored and bits of its completely taken out".

He said that the wording of the reports alleged that the two men had been involved in the illicit sale of tickets, but insisted that the video shows he was not present when two men posing as ticket resellers made an offer of €60,000 for MOC tickets to be resold in the Middle East.

He said Olympic committees can sell tickets directly or subcontract a retailer, as the MOC did with the London Olympics. "The contract must be approved by the IOC anyway - the same procedure would have been followed for the winter Olympics."

Farrugia Sacco said that when he met the two undercover journalists, he soon lost interest in the talks and left the table. "They told me they were setting up a new company with the backing of some sheikh. I lost interest, realising they were not serious and left. That explains why I am not in the film, but this film was edited."

He also said that the MOC was exempted from an IOC restriction that prevents committees from selling their tickets across borders. "In May, Cassar refused to sell tickets to the Middle East, and he told the two undercover journalists that they would have to go to retailers to buy the tickets."

Farrugia Sacco insisted that the IOC's ethics commission, which said that secretary-general Joe Cassar had tarnished the Olympic games by entertaining the requests of the two undercover reporters, never censored or sanctioned him. "I was never accused of misconduct or involvement in black market sales. The ethics commission never mentioned that I damaged or tarnished the Games."

Farrugia Sacco will present the IOC ethics commission report to the court.

Times editor Ray Bugeja and journalist Chris Peregin were assisted by lawyers Stefan Frendo and Austin Bencini.