Valletta Futsal club president ‘might’ step down after conviction

The president of the Valletta Futsal club is reportedly contemplating resignation, after being slapped with a €500 fine for punching an opposing player when a brawl broke out during a match last week.

Valletta Futsal president Baldassare Borg has been slapped with a €500 fine and ordered not to attend futsal matches for punching an opposing player when a brawl broke out during a match last week.

The assault took place at the Corradino Sports Pavilion on the 13th May after the final whistle at a futsal match between Valletta and Hamrun, when an affray is understood to have been triggered by Brazilian Hamrun player Raphael Felipe Ortiz De Oliviera, reportedly elbowing the Valletta goalkeeper in the head.

Magistrate Francesco Depasquale heard how Valletta Futsal Club President Baldassare Borg had then stepped into the resulting tumult of players and supporters on the pitch and punched the Brazilian player, causing him to suffer slight injuries.

Inspectors Spiridione Zammit and Chantelle Casha charged Borg, 34 from San Gwann with attacking and slightly injuring De Oliviera, participating in a brawl and breaching the peace.

Lawyer Roberto Montalto entered a guilty plea on behalf of the accused.

The court handed the club president a €500 fine and ordered him to keep a wide berth of futsal matches in future. Upon being told this, the accused replied that this would not be a problem as his only two other convictions had also been futsal-related and that he would probably be stepping down from his position at the club.