[WATCH] Social distancing rules no match for Floriana’s championship celebrations

Floriana supporters gathered outside their club headquarters to celebrate the title win, with some people... though not many... wearing face masks

COVID-19 social distancing rules were flouted left, right and centre as an unstoppable wave of Floriana FC supporters gathered on the Granaries to celeberate their 26th league title, 27 years after their last championship.

The legendary club were declared Malta football champions after the season took an unprecedented turn when it was truncated because of COVID-19 restrictions.

As this video shows, Floriana supporters gathered outside their club headquarters to celebrate the title win, with some people... though not many... wearing face masks.

Malta has relaxed its soft lockdown, allowing a maximum of six people to gather in groups. The crowd was later broken up by police, but at around 10:30pm people were still lingering outside in the street, as street webcams showed.

The police headquarters is in Floriana, a mere three streets away from where the celebrations are taking place.

Satirical website Bis-Serjetà was quick on the draw with its concise summation of the event, declaring Floriana champions of “not giving a fuck about social distancing”. 

The decision was taken Monday night by the Malta Football Association council that opted to award the championship on the basis of the league table when the tournament was stopped. The same holds for all divisions.

With six more games to play when the Premier League was stopped in March, Floriana were leading the standings, three points ahead of Valletta. The decision is expected to set a precedent, given that the MFA statute does not have provisions for a situation where leagues cannot finish for whatever reason, like happened this year.

Earlier today, the MFA had to change the venue originally intended for its council meeting to take place. The meeting was moved to a secret location out of fear that its final decision could lead to repercussions from supporters of rival teams.