March 2000

Fri 31

• Division 2 Sta. Lucia vs Siggiewi 1-1, Mqabba vs Ghaxaq 1-1
• Division 3 Gudja U. vs Senglea A. 2-3, Balzan Y. vs Ta' Xbiex 9-0
• Gozo - GFA Cup SK Victoria W. vs Qala SJ 4-0, Victoria H. vs Ghajnsielem 1-3
• An international tournament will be held next June in Malta. Taking part are Birkirkara FC, Mertyhr Tydfil (Wales), Polisportiva Mistretta (Sicily) and Al Ahli (Libya). The semi-finals and finals are scheduled for the 8th and 10th June respectively at the Hibernians Ground, Corradino.

Wed 29

• The MFA Disciplinary Commissioner suspended Pietà Hotspurs midfielder Joe Camilleri for one match.

Tue 28

• Friendly International Malta vs Northern Ireland 0-3
• Under 21 Friendly Match Malta vs Northern Ireland 1-2. Malta scored by Michael Galea in the 23rd. Northern Ireland had taken the lead after just four minutes and after having a goal disallowed, they scored the second goal just before the final whistle.

Mon 27

• Malta plays two friendly matches against Northern Ireland on Tuesday. The senior sides will be meeting each other at the National Stadium, Ta' Qali while the Under 21 match will be played at the Hibernians Ground, Corradino. National team coach Josif Ilic had to drop Birkirkara's Joe Brincat who is still recovering from an injury. On the other hand, although Carmel Busuttil and Silvio Vella are not 100% fit, they were included in the squad. However they will probably not start the game. The complete squad is made up of goalkeepers Ernest Barry and Mario Muscat; defenders Darren Debono, John Buttigieg, Jeffrey Chetcuti, Edward Azzopardi, Digger Okonkwo, Silvio Vella and David Carabott, midfielders Noel Turner, Carmel Busuttil, Gilbert Agius and Adrian Ciantar and strikers George Mallia, Chucks Nwoko and Nenad Veselji. The Under 21 side's coach Ray 'Zazu' Farrugia will be experimenting with most of the new players in his squad. Among the new players in squad are two 'foreigners' Djebriel Sylla and Daniel Bogdanovic. Both players obtained Maltese citizenship.

Sun 26

• Rothmans Trophy Gozo vs Lija A. 4-2, Hamrun S. vs Xghajra T. 2-1
• Division 2 Dingli S. vs Mellieha 1-1, Sta. Venera L. vs Qormi 0-2
• Division 3 Birzebbuga SP vs Vittoriosa S. 1-3, Zejtun C. vs Gharghur 1-0
• Women's League Melita vs Mosta 1-0, Hibernians vs Birkirkara 0-0
• Gozo - Division 2 Kercem A. vs St. Lawrence S. 3-1, Oratory Y. vs Gharb R.

Sat 25

• Rothmans Trophy Pietà H. vs Rabat A. 1-1 (2-4 after penalties, Naxxar L. vs Floriana 1-2
• Division 3 Kirkop U. vs Msida SJ 2-1, Sirens vs Mgarr U. 4-2

Fri 24

• Floriana FC will be playing St. Georges FC at the Centenary Ground on the 14th May 2000 to commemorate the first official game of 100 years ago. The winner will keep the Silver cup which will be named after the losers. This game forms part of the official MFA Centenary celebrations.
• Sliema Wanderers released Italian defender Cristiano Bergodi after he was suspended for 6 months by the MFA Disciplinary Commissioner. The reason behind it is the lack of professional behaviour by the Italian player.
• New Zealand defender Kim Wright registered for Floriana and will be eligible to play for them in the second round of the Championship Pool. The Greens could sign the player after they had a ban on transfers lifted by the MFA after they paid Rabat Ajax the amount due regarding the transfer of Nicky Bilocca.

Wed 22

• Sliema Wanderers' Italian defender Cristiano Bergodi was suspended for 6 months till the 21st September for hitting the referee in the face with the ball last Sunday in the match against Floriana. The MFA Disciplinary Commissioner suspended also another six players for one match. These are Ivan Vassilev and Charles Sciberras (Floriana), Michael Spiteri (Birkirkara), Ridha Dardouri and Chris Okoh (Naxxar) and Kris Laferla (Valletta). A player from Division 1, Jose Borg of St. Andrews was suspended for 3 months.

Tue 21

• National coaches Josif Ilic and Ray 'Zazu' Farrugia named the squads for the A and Under 21 international frienlies against Northern Ireland. There were no surprise choices in the senior squad with Ilic mentioning the probability of giving a chance to the inexperienced players in this match. The complete squad is made up of Barry, Turner, Busuttil (Sliema); Muscat, Vella, Carabott, Ciantar, Mifsud (Hibs); Darmanin (Pietà); Buttigieg, Chetcuti, Theuma, Debono, Azzopardi, Agius, Veselji (Valletta); Okonkwo (Naxxar); Brincat, Nwoko (Birkirkara); Said, Mallia (Floriana). On the other hand, the Under 21 squad includes a number of new faces. Forming part of the Under 21 squad is Djebriel Sylla of Gozo FC while another foreigner with a Maltese passaport, Daniel Bogdanovic is currently training with the squad. The complete squad is M. Camilleri, J. Haber, W. Camenzuli, C. Mattocks (Floriana); Paul Psaila (Luqa); M.A. Bonnici, M. Grima, J. Farrugia, A. Debono, M. Mifsud, K. Sammut (Sliema); R. Forace, S. Giglio (Valletta); C. Mamo, K. Scicluna, M. Galea (Birkirkara); Adrian Pulis (St. Patrick); A. Xuereb (Hibs) and William Borg (Rabat).
• After that the MFA and Air Malta reached an agreement following a dispute between the two parties, Air Malta will be sponsoring the Centenary Cup together with a classical concert and a dinner which will be held in June. For this dinner FIFA President Sepp Blatter and UEFA President Lennart Johannson will be attending.
• Maltese assitant referee Emmanuel Zammit was selected as one of the officials for the Champions League match between Hertha Berlin and Porto tonight.

Mon 20

• The fixtures of the Second Round of the Centenary Cup were drawn today at the MFA Headquarters in Valletta. Two matches feature teams from the Premier League against each other: Naxxar-Hibs and Pietà-Birkirkara. In most of the other fixtures, clubs meet others from a lower division. The complete fixtures are as follows: Gozo FC vs San Gwann, Qormi vs Floriana, Pietà H. vs Birkirkara, Marsa vs Gzira U., Sirens vs St. Andrews, Rabat A. vs Marsaxlokk, Naxxar L. vs Hibernians, St. George's vs Sliema W., Siggiewi vs Ghaxaq, St. Patrick vs Dingli S., Melita vs Zebbug R., Lija A. vs Mqabba, Hamrun S. vs Zurrieq, Mosta vs Victoria H. (GFA), Xghajra T. vs Valletta and Balzan Y. vs Tarxien R.

Sun 19

• Premier League - Championship Pool Floriana vs Sliema W. 4-5, Birkirkara vs Valletta 2-1
• Division 1 Tarxien R. vs Lija A. 1-3, St. Andrews vs Xghajra T. 1-1
• Division 2 St. George's vs Marsaxlokk 0-1, Attard vs Melita 0-3
• Division 3 Luqa SA vs Balzan Y. 2-2, San Gwann vs Fgura U. 4-0
• Women's League Mosta vs Birkirkara 0-1, Melita vs Hibernians 3-1
• Gozo - Division 1 Ghajnsielem vs Zebbug R. 3-0, Xewkija T. vs Sannat L. 3-2

Sat 18

• Premier League - Championship Pool Pietà H. vs Hibernians 4-0 Relegation Pool Naxxar L. vs Rabat A. 3-3
• Division 1 Gzira U. vs Zebbug R. 0-0, St. Patrick vs Mosta 2-1
• Division 3 Gharghur vs Gudja U. 2-1, Ta' Xbiex vs Senglea A. 1-3
• Gozo - Division 1 Victoria H. vs Xaghra U. 3-1, SK Victoria W. vs Nadur Y. 0-3

Fri 17

• One of the greatest Maltese goalkeepers of all times, Wenzu Gabarretta died today at the age of 82. He played for several years for St. George's. He also played for Sliema Wanderers and Valletta among other teams.
• Naxxar striker Chris Oretan was voted Rothmans Footballer of the Month for February 2000.

Thu 16

• Malta will be playing a friendly match against South Africa on the 28th May at Ta' Qali, a week before the big match aginst England. South Africa is another country which is hoping to win the bid to host the World Cup 2006.
• Centenary Cup Sirens vs Mellieha 2-1

Wed 15

• Floriana striker George Mallia was suspended for four months following incidents which took place during the match from the Under 21 League between Floriana and Pietà Hotspurs. The MFA Disciplinary Commissioner suspended also four players for one match each. These are Sliema's Zoran Antic and Martin Gregory, Floriana's William Camenzuli and Pietà's Sacho Anguelov.
• Centenary Cup Balzan Y. vs Msida SJ 1-1 (5-4 pens)
• Malta moved one place down in the FIFA World Ranking list published on Wednesday. Although Malta did not play any competitive or friendly matches, the results obtained by other countries affected the position of the Maltese side. Malta is now in the 114th place together with the Faroe Islands.

Sun 12

• Premier League - Championship Pool Sliema W. vs Pietà H. 2-0 Relegation Pool Gozo vs Rabat A. 0-0
• Division 1 Lija A. vs St. Andrews 1-1, Marsa vs Hamrun S. 2-2
• Division 2 Pembroke A. vs Sta. Lucia 0-1, Siggiewi vs Mqabba 2-2
• Division 3 Mgarr U. vs B' Bugia SP 3-3, Vittoriosa S. vs Zejtun C. 0-1
• Women's League Hibernians vs Mosta 4-0, Birkirkara vs Melita 3-1
• Gozo - Division 2 Gharb R. vs Qala SJ 2-0, Oratory Y. vs Munxar F. 5-1

Sat 11

• Premier League - Championship Pool Valletta vs Hibernians 2-1, Floriana vs Birkirkara 0-3
• Division 1 Zebbug R. vs Tarxien R. 1-3, Xghajra T. vs St. Patrick 1-1
• Division 3 Fgura U. vs Kirkop U. 0-3, Msida SJ vs Sirens 1-1

Thu 9

• Centenary Cup St. George's vs Sta. Venera L. 0-0 (4-3 pens)

Wed 8

• The MFA Disciplinary Commissioner suspended six Premier League players. These are Joe Brincat (Birkirkara), Malcolm Licari (Floriana), Uwa Ogbodo (Sliema), Dami Iriele, Nikolai Kirilov and Stephen Wellman (all Zurrieq).
• Centenary Cup Dingli S. vs Ta' Xbiex w/o

Tue 7

• The Second Round of the Rothmans Trophy was drawn as follows: Pietà Hotspurs vs Rabat Ajax, Naxxar Lions vs Floriana, Gozo FC vs Lija Athletic and Hamrun Spartans vs Xghajra Tornadoes. These matches will be played on the 25th and 26th March at the National Stadium.
• Local referees' instructor Tommy Restall was appointed as match inspector by UEFA for the UEFA Cup Third Round match between Celta Vigo and Juventus. Lately, MFA Honorary Tresurer Norman Darmanin Demajo was appointed as UEFA match inspector for the EURO 2000 match between England and Germany.
• Centenary Cup Zejtun C. vs Mqabba 2-2 (3-5 pens)

Sun 5

• Premier League - Championship Pool Hibernians vs Floriana 2-1 Relegation Pool Zurrieq vs Naxxar L. 0-2
• Division 2 & 3 Knock-Out St. George's vs Attard 1-0, Melita vs Marsaxlokk 9-8 (after penalty shoot-out)
• Gozo - Division 1 Ghajnsielem vs Xaghra U. 4-0, Zebbug R. vs SK Victoria W. 4-4

Sat 4

• Premier League - Championship Pool Pietà H. vs Valletta 0-2, Birkirkara vs Sliema W. 2-0
• Division 1 Marsa vs Gzira U. 1-0, Mosta vs Hamrun S. 1-2
• Division 3 Senglea A. vs Luqa SA 0-2, Balzan Y. vs San Gwann 1-1
• Gozo - Division 1 Xewkija T. vs Nadur Y. 2-3, Sannat L. vs Victoria H. 1-2

Thu 2

• Assistant referee Emmanuel Zammit is one of the officials for the match from the Third Round of the UEFA Cup between Roma and Leeds. Zammit has recently been selected as one of the assistant referees for EURO 2000.
• Centenary Cup Kirkop U. vs Qormi 1-5

Wed 1

• Five Premier League players were suspended for one match by the MFA Disciplinary Commissioner. These are Justin Tellus (Valletta), Sacho Anguelov (Pietà), George Mallia (Floriana), Gordon Camenzuli and Beppe Pace (both Zurrieq).
• Rabat Ajax player-coach Ziya Yildiz was voted the Player of the Month for January 2000.
• Centenary Cup Victoria H. vs Fgura U. 3-0