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Malta players involved in match-fixing ‘feared for their safety’
Malta Under-21 internationals say they did not report attempt to rig match against Montenegro because they feared Asian betting syndicate would take revenge
Defender Emanuel Briffa (fourth from right) and midfielder Kyle Cesare (fourth from left) are accused of being involved in match-fixing
Two Malta Under-21 internationals told court they did not report the Asian syndicate which approached them to fix a game against Montenegro because they feared for their life.
Kyle Cesare, 20, and Emanuel Briffa, 22, stand accused of being involved in the rigging of an away game Malta lost to Montenegro in March 2016.
In April, footballer Seyble Zammit, a former youth player for Valletta FC, admitted to having organised the rigging the game, but was exempted from punishment for having collaborated with the police.
Up to nine Malta players were approached and asked to be involved in rigging the game and Cesare and Briffa are thought to be the only two who accepted the offer and the plan fell through.
However, the accused denied having accepted the bribe despite being continuously hounded by Zammit.
Zammit – son of former Valletta and Malta player Ivan Zammit - admitted to having been offered €5,000 for his assistance. He added that he had tried to recruit other players, but they had refused.
Briffa and Cesare told court that they met Zammit in a café in Gzira after the latter had called them numerous times.
Briffa said he received nine calls and rejected the offer after meeting him in Gzira.
He said that after making it clear that he was not interested, Cesare and a third man came to their table, however he was given an impression that nobody was willing to take part.
The court heard how Briffa was initially offered €3,000, and after refusing he was offered more money to take part in the fix but the amount was unspecified.
Briffa said that he met with Zammit a second time, with a Chinese man present but he once again refused the offer.
He told court that he was between “a hard place and a rock,” because Zammit’s father - now a coach – and decided against reporting the matter because he feared this would spell the end for Zammit’s career.
Briffa added that he did not report the case because he feared for his safety since the Asian betting syndicate is notoriously dangerous.
