Jean Claude Micallef resigns as sports integrity authority CEO

New Authority for Integrity in Maltese Sport (AIMS) CEO Jean Claude Micallef has penned his resignation around three months into the job.

“In light of Minister Clifton Grima not accepting former judge Antonio Mizzi’s resignation, I have been forced to resign myself as Chief Executive, and this despite being instructed to give the Authority a new direction away from the mediocrity it has found itself in,” Micallef said in a letter to Prime Minister Robert Abela.

On Tuesday, Times of Malta reported former judge Antonio Mizzi offered to step down as the chair of the board of Malta’s sports integrity body, with the board’s secretary Frank Camilleri also tendering his resignation. The move came as a result of the reportedly difficult working relationship with Micallef.

Last month, controversy sparked after it was revealed that AIMS – the regulatory body tasked with combating match-fixing – had hired a former footballer who was previously convicted of attempting to bribe another footballer. The news report led Sports Minister Clifton Grima to rebuke the authority. The former footballer was not engaged by the authority despite having signed the work contract.

In comments on RTK103‘s Andrew Azzopardi show, Micallef dismissed reports about a contract with lifetime-banned footballer Jermain Brincat as “sour grapes” and claimed he was the victim of a campaign to discredit him.

And on Wednesday Micallef went down swinging, telling Abela how he was the victim of baseless attacks, blatant lies and systematic manoeuvres against him. “But these have little effect on me.”

In his letter, he listed work he carried out in his three months at the helm of the authority, which included record antidoping tests, SOPs for every department, audited accounts for 2022 and a working relationship with SportMalta, among others.

“It is worth recalling that even before I was appointed CEO, there were already signs of resistance from the present board, led by retired Judge Antonio Mizzi, against my engagement with the Authority. Even though they accepted me, the Chairman chose to subject me to a grilling session about my personal life and presented me with an employment contract with a salary lower than that of a CEO, with the aim of discouraging me from accepting the contract offer,” Micallef said in his letter.

He thanked the authority’s employees, “who showed that when they have clear and genuine direction, they can work in a serene environment.”

The resignation, Micallef said, comes from the fact that he has “principles and dignity that no one and nothing can compromise.”

Micallef addresses recent controversies

Micallef initially denied hiring a footballer who had been banned for life over match-fixing. Times of Malta insisted its journalists had seen the contract suggesting otherwise.

“Maliciously, an employee of the Authority stole the document from Sandro Micallef’s desk, placed it on the only white table, and took photos that were sent to Times of Malta, making it appear as if it were a legitimate and complete contract,” the former CEO said on Wednesday. “The Times also published the clothing of the pseudo-photographer. Every employee at the Authority knows who it was.”

However, speaking to MaltaToday, Times of Malta Online Editor Bertrand Borg said a journalist from the newspaper took the photograph of the contract at his own residence, and the clothing shown belongs to him.