No Maltese for World Cup? ‘We’re insulted’

Viewers spared ‘amateurish’ World Cup commentary in Maltese

Veteran sports journalist George Micallef - arguably the best of them all.
Veteran sports journalist George Micallef - arguably the best of them all.

During 2014's World Cup in Brazil, Maltese viewers will be denied the opportunity to watch the 64 matches in Maltese, following the Public Broadcasting Services' decision to broadcast the games in English.

PBS insiders have told MaltaToday that the decision was taken due to the "poor quality of commentary" provided by a limited pool of commentators.

During the last two major tournaments, PBS offered viewers the possibility of choosing between different languages. Notwithstanding that a small segment of Maltese society speaks and understands only Maltese, this time around commentary will only be available in English.

PBS Head of Sports Peter Cossai refused to comment and said that questions should be directed to the station's CEO Anton Attard.

Attard told MaltaToday "It is not custom for PBS to transmit all 64 games for free.  In the last World Cup, Maltese viewers had to switch to a service provider to follow some of the matches. There was no issue of understanding a foreign language, in most cases English or Italian, then and I don't think there is now."

He added that the World Cup rights acquired by PBS give the broadcaster access to live English commentaries  directly from the different stadia which are integrated in the live transmission.

"This is very different to what we try and do in Malta which essentially is commenting on the basis of what you see on a TV. Over the past few years, with the increase in transmission of football games like the Malta Premier League, Champions League and Europa League, we have and will continue to give numerous opportunities to Maltese commentators."

He said that PBS is also committed to broadcast dedicated World Cup programmes which will be in Maltese.   

The art of football commentary should serve to reduce the distance between the spectators and the commentators, but in recent years Maltese commentators, with a few exceptions, have been a source of amusement and ridicule.

The amateurish quality of commentary offered by a mishmash of sport journalists and pseudo-experts is a far cry from that offered on foreign television stations epitomized by legendary football commentators such as Sandro Ciotti or John Motson.

Following an influx of new commentators during Euro 2012, PBS paid commentators €50 per game, down from the €70 paid during the 2010 World Cup. However, with the notable exception of one or two commentators, there was no tangible effect on the quality of commentary.

Trained and experienced commentators around the world master the language and put great effort in their preparation, pronunciation and animation.

They normally have an ability to vividly describe what is happening on the pitch while dishing out relevant stats at the right time and keeping viewers glued to their screens by creating excitement.

John Motson, voted the greatest football commentator in English history, once noted that commentators "must get excitement, passion and enthusiasm into their voice so that the viewer at home can get into a game and enjoy it to the full." 

In Malta, viewers have become accustomed to local commentators mispronouncing names, confusing players and getting entangled in incomprehensible non-sequiturs.

"Some of them believe that Yugoslavia still exists and others have a habit to blabber on without describing what is going on in the pitch as they sit comfortably in studios 10,000 miles away from the stadia," a PBS insider who spoke to MaltaToday said.

The BBC and other institutions abroad offer training courses and support structures which prepare journalists, while Maltese commentators scramble for the few opportunities available without receiving any formal training.

But the widely respected sports journalist George Micallef said the decision was an "insult to Maltese sport journalists," adding that he completely disagreed with the national broadcaster's decision.

"I am hurt by this decision because I do not expect the national broadcaster to ignore the Maltese language in such a blatant way. If anything PBS should offer viewers the possibility to choose between English and Maltese," he said.

The veteran journalist added that he was surprised that none of the sports journalists' associations had spomen out about the decision, which he said was an "insult" to PBS sports journalists and freelance commentators like himself.

"If PBS believes that it does not have enough competent commentators within its ranks it should offer training to its journalists or farm out commentators. There's no need to have a big pool of commentators. Italy's RAI only employs six commentators to cover a major tournament," Micallef said.

Fellow football commentator and Malta Sports Journalists Association secretary-general Sandro Micallef agreed that viewers should be given a choice between different languages, however he added that some commentators were not suitable for the job.

"The majority of Maltese commentators are well prepared but some others are not," he said, explaining that in recent tournaments a minority of commentators "underperformed" and gave a bad name to the rest.

"Unfortunately during the 2012 European Championships a small number of commentators were unprepared and got carried away and this reflected badly on the profession. The level of commentary suffered because commentators are not present in the stadia. In the few rare occasions when Maltese commentators were present for live events, the level increased drastically," Micallef said.

He also said that journalists should shoulder their responsibility and ensure that they are well prepared before accepting such jobs, "otherwise they will underperform."

Explaining that PBS must also look at its commercial interests, Micallef said:  "I respect the station's decision because I am sure decisions are taken in the viewers' best interest and I wouldn't be surprised if sponsors put pressure on PBS in regards to the level of commentary of live matches."

Two experienced PBS journalists, Charles Vella and Chris Cassar agreed that they would respect whatever decision PBS took, with Vella insisting that no final decision had been taken yet.

On his part, said he would be disappointed if World Cup matches are not broadcast in Maltese. "The national station has a duty to broadcast in Maltese. However, as a person involved, I would feel hard done by even though I will respect the station's decision."

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This is one of PBS best decisions. I mean do we need to hear the games in Maltese! for Pete's Sake....I am sure PBS will save some money on this and might surprise us with Games of Throne or Downton Abbey next season!
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What ! No Eileeen Montesin?
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I realised you fixed the 'there/their' spelling atrocity but the 'affect/effect' one remains unaltered. 'Affect' is the verb and 'effect' is the noun. A great newspaper but you really need to invest in a decent proof-reading system for your online articles.
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As they say: Verita offende. I have been commenting that as of lately PBS went to the dogs. At least on this one I am 100 per cent in line with the authorities of PBS. We have a lot of pretenders, be they coaches, reporters, experts, sport commentators, sport advisors. And we keep loosing. Let the show go on and please no Maltese bla bla bla sense.
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Kienu kollha flus mohlijin meta m'hemm ebda bzonn ta' kummentarju bil-Malti ghal-loghob tal-fotball !
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Most Maltese people understand and speak the English language more fluently than they speak or understand Maltese, especially the young generation. If these games are transmitted in Maltese only Maltese can understand the language but if the games are transmitted in English then everybody would follow the English transmission. As commented below Maltese sports commentators are not up to par or up to standard to broadcast these games in Maltese. So the best thing is to let the World Cup Games be transmitted in the English language.
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Maltese commentators not up to standard. I hope the ban will include ongoing matches such Champions League 2013 etc.
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Il-hmerijiet li nisma' mill-kummentaturi Maltin bilfors igeghluni jew innehhi s-sound jew naqliblu fuq stazzjon iehor. Bir-rispett kollu lejn George Micallef, il-mod kif jikkummenta ma nissaportihx.
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ok ruhi !! kuntent issa !!, ridt tismaha min hal il hmar!! sib xoghol iehor zuzu!!!!
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As a taxpayer PBS Board should respect the Maltese views therefore the world cup matches should broadcast in maltese. If we have poor commentators then pbs should send Sport PBS journalist for BBC/RAI coures for commentators so to have profroessional commententators.So that the World Cup will be boadcast in Maltese.
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Ma tantx stajt issejjahlu kummentarju bil-Malti dak li kien meqjuz hekk. Iktar kien Taljan bi ftit Malti go fih...
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Maureen Attard
Meta jkollna xi kumentatur bhal Louis Portelli Jistu jikkummentaw. Imma l-bqija m'hawnx minn jikkumenta. Lanqas l-ismijiet tal-players ma jafu.
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kont nahseb li il-maltin huma armchair critrics fil football...imma jidher li lanqas ghall dan m`ahna tajbin ghax jien l-ewwel wiehed li kummentarju mill maltin niskartah ghaliex huma dillettanti u mhux professjonali xejn . .....forsi wasal iz-zmien li nieqfu ninvestu fil football ghax hlief disunuri ma gabx u nikkoncentraw fuq sport individuali ghax dawn hlief unuri ghal pajjizna ma gabux,...apparti mill fatt li il-football malti hu walking football u bil ground meta jkun hemm xi hadd..hlief dagha ma tismax
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George Micallef huwa forsi wiehed mill-ahjar kummentaturi Maltin li ghandna, imma xorta itellghalek l-istonku tisimghu jikkummenta loghba football. Jiena u naf hafna nies bhali, nippreferu nitfu s-sound milli nisimghu kummentarju bil-Malti, hu min hu l-kummentatur!
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Mela biex tara loghba football hemm bzonn tkun taf bl-Ingliz ? Loghba football mhux xi film, li jekk ma tkunx taf bil-lingwa tal-film, probabillment ma tifhem xejn. Ma naf lil hadd li ghax ma jafx bit-Taljan, ma jarax il-loghob tas-Serie A tal-ITalja. Jew xi hadd li ma jafx bl-Ingliz, ma jarax il-loghob tal-Premier Inliz !
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Hemmmm. Bhalissa qed naraw il-ballun jigri f'nofs tal pitch, player jqassam lill siehbu, hmm, hmm rega l-ballun jitqassa lura, rega l-quddiem u rega , hmmm, hmmm, hadu il-player numru 5 bl-isem taaaaa (pawza) De Slow. -----Mentri l-ballun ikun diga bidel is-sieq 5 darbiet. Proset PBS, ghallinqas se nara loghba fuq it-TV, mhux internet :-)
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Hemmmm. Bhalissa qed naraw il-ballun jigri f'nofs tal pitch, player jqassam lill siehbu, hmm, hmm rega l-ballun jitqassa lura, rega l-quddiem u rega , hmmm, hmmm, hadu il-player numru 5 bl-isem taaaaa (pawza) De Slow. -----Mentri l-ballun ikun diga bidel is-sieq 5 darbiet. Proset PBS, ghallinqas se nara loghba fuq it-TV, mhux internet :-)
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Good decision not to use Maltese commentators. Only George Micallef was a bit passionate in his commentary. the others always out me to sleep. I think PBS should extend this to the Champions league matches
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With all due respect to Mr.Micallef, PBS took the best decision. People switched to RAI even if they didn't understood a word in Italian, due to the non-sense comments passed during matches on PBS.
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Prosit PBS. Decizjoni li biha l-PBS se jzid bil-kbir l-ammont ta' viewers. Hafna Maltin ma jissaportux il-kummentarji fjakki tal-kummentaturi Maltin minn go l-istudjo. Allura jew jippreferu jaraw loghba fuq stazzjon taljan jew inkella fuq xi stazzjoni iehor anke jekk ma jifhmux il-lingwa. L-ingliz huwa wkoll lingwa nazzjonali u ma jkun qed isir xejn hazin li t-trasmissjoni tintwera' kif qed tkun tixxandar bl-audio b'kollox. Fuq kollox il-films barranin mhux hekk narawhom?
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Until we have a good sport presenter that doesn't annoy you, I (and many others) agree to this decision! Well done.
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Until we have a good sport presenter that doesn't annoy you, I (and many others) agree to this decision! Well done.
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Until we have a good sport presenter that doesn't annoy you, I (and many others) agree to this decision! Well done.
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Tigini quddiem ghajnejja l-loghba f'Ta'Qali bejn Malta u L-Irlanda ftit ilu. Kummentatur li kien kowc tat-tim Malti hareg b'wahda li dahhqitni u bikkietni fl-istess hin. Dan il-bravu ikkummenta hekk: "Li qed jinkwetani huwa l-fatt li l-Irlandizi qed jilaghbu wisq fuq il-lasta taghna " !!!!!!!> X'ma tibkix !. Decizzjoni ghaqlija,u min qed jiehu ghalih, ihallas hu .
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l-Ingliz hija illingwa ufficjali taghnam Isa aqtalu passag ghal holiday !!!!!!!!!!! u hallina.. ghadna niftakra il lobgha Italja kontra Malta fejn il kommentatur min sqallija kien qazzizna jilghaba ta Taljan
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John Mifsud
Good decision. Ever since the advent of televised soccer in Malta nearly 60 years ago, people never had difficulty following Italian and English commentaries. Quite apart from the poor quality of Maltese commentaries and the unnecessary expense, the 'small segment of Maltese society speaks and understands only Maltese' should, 70 years after the introduction of compulsory free education, be considered a cause for national shame and not actively nurtured and promoted.
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Thank God!
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How can one comment on the same thing which is being viewed by one and all if the commentator is not physically present at the venue? Most Maltese journalists supposed to be commenting on a direct transmission of a football match, instead harangue the biographies of the players on the pitch instead of portraying their movements on the field.
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best decision for many years by PBS . with all due respect all Maltese commentators are mediocre and not fit to comment snail races.