May 2000

Tue 30

• Under 14 Inter-Section Knock-Out Final Paola H. vs Pietà H. 0-2

Sun 28

• Friendly International Malta vs South Africa 0-1
• Stefan Giglio scored his first goal for his new club, CSKA Sofia of Bulgaria. In a game against Olimipik-Beroe Teteven, Giglio gave his team the lead in the 22nd minute and then their opponents equalised for a final 1-1 score. This result meant that Levski Sofia were declared champions. Meanwhile it was discovered that Stefan Giglio had actually scored in his first game when he hit the posts as the ball had actually bounced beyond the goal line.
• Under 16 Inter-Section Knock-Out Final Valletta vs Floriana 1-3 ... Floriana Under 16 Champions

Sat 27

• Sliema Wanderers will be replacing Birkirkara in the international tournament which will be held in Malta in the second week of June. The other teams are Mertyhr Tydfil (Wales), Polisportiva Mistretta (Sicily) and Al Ahli (Libya).

Fri 26

• National coach Josif Ilic named an 18-man squad for the friendly game on Sunday against South Africa which will be held at Ta' Qali. Missing are Floriana's Brian Said and Valletta's Jeffrey Chetcuti who are not 100% fit. The complete squad is made up of Ernest Barry, Luke Dimech, Noel Turner, Carmel Busuttil and Michael Mifsud (SLI), Saviour Darmanin (PIE), Edward Azzopardi, John Buttigieg, Darren Debono, Daniel Theuma and Gilbert Agius (VAL), Digger Okonkwo (NAX), Joe Brincat and Chucks Nwoko (BKR), David Carabott (HIB), Jonathan Holland and George Mallia (FLO) and Djebriel Sylla (GOZ).

Mon 22

• Division 2 Championship Decider Marsaxlokk vs Qormi 3-1 aet ... M'Xlokk Division 2 Champions
• UEFA distributed the clubs' and associations' shares from the income of the European competitions. Valletta who managed to move to the Second Qualifying Round of the Champions League will receive about Lm84,000. Birkirkara and Sliema who took part in the UEFA Cup will receive Lm22,000 while the MFA will receive Lm80,000.
• In the third and last session of the Gozo FA extraordinary general meeting, president Chris Said won a vote of confidence by 11 to 1. The main topic of discussion was Gozo FC, its participation in the MFA competitions and the problems it created for clubs in Gozo. It was decided that the club should keep on taking part in the MFA competitions although no discrimination will be accepted. The club will be managed by a board of four persons within the GFA executive council. The motion passed with 9 votes to 3.

• Stefan Giglio made his debut for top Bulgarian side CSKA Sofia in the home game against Lokomotiv Sofia which CSKA won 3-2. According to the first reports, Giglio played a very good game. The young international midfielder is currently on a one-month loan with the club. At the end of this period, the two clubs will most probably start negotiating the transfer.
• Rothmans Super Cup Birkirkara vs Sliema W. 0-3
• Second & Third Division Knock-Out Final St. George's vs Melita 1-2 aet
• Division 2 Mellieha vs Pembroke A. 4-0, Ghaxaq vs Siggiewi 2-9 .... St. George's relegated to Division 3
• Gozo - GFA Cup Final Sannat L. vs Xewkija T. 2-3
• Gozo - Super Cup Final Ghajnsielem vs Victoria H. 0-2

Sat 20

• Gozo - Relegation/Promotion Play-Off Xaghra U. vs Oratory Y. 0-1 .. Xaghra United relegated to Second Division
• Birkirkara may face harsh disciplnary action by the MFA following the incidents that took place on Thursday in the Rothmans Trophy final in which about 290 seats where destroyed. The club had been cautioned earleier this season following incidents in the game Gozo-Birkirkara which was held at the Gozo Stadium.

Fri 19

• National coach Josif Ilic selected 23 players for the two friendly matches which will be held at the National Stadium Ta' Qali on the 28th May against South Africa and on the 3rd June against England. A surprise choice is the inclusion of Guinean defender Djebriel Sylla who obtained Maltese citizenship earlier this year. Sylla who plays for Gozo FC made his debut for the Under 21 side last month. The complete squad is made up of goalkeepers Barry (Sliema), Darmanin (Pietà) and Muscat (Hibs), defenders Azzopardi, Buttigieg, Chetcuti and Debono (Valletta), Okonkwo (Naxxar), Said (Floriana) and Vella (Hibs), midfielders Agius (Valletta), Brincat (Birkirkara), Carabott and Ciantar (Hibs), Sylla (Gozo) and Turner (Sliema) and forwards Busuttil and Mifsud (Sliema), Mallia (Floriana), Mifsud (Hibs), Nwoko (Birkirkara) and Veselji (Valletta).
• Leading Italian sports newspaper, La Gazzetta dello Sport, reports that two top Italian clubs wil be visiting Malta in July. The two clubs are the newly-crowned champions Lazio and the Italian Cup finalists Inter. It is reported that the Lazio players will be in Malta accompanied in Malta accompanied by their families in order to relax besides preparing for the new season. Inter will will be using the facilities at Ta' Qali as part of their pre-season training.
• Gozo - Super Cup Victoria H. vs Zebbug R. 4-1

Thu 18

• Rothmans Trophy Sliema W. vs Birkirkara 4-1
• Under 21 Inter-Section Knock Out Final Lija A. vs Floriana 1-5
• Gozo - Super Cup Ghajnsielem vs Xewkija T. 2-1

Wed 17

• Valletta captain Kris Laferla was suspended for 5 matches and removed from club captain till the 18th May 2001 by the MFA Disciplinary Commissioner following the incidents in the Rothmans Trophy semi-final against Sliema. Valletta goalie Reggie Cini was suspended for one game.
• Besides Manchester United who will probably visit the island on the 9th August to play a friendly match against Birkirkara, newly-crowned Italian champions, Lazio are also expected to visit the island for a three or four-day training camp. This could take place in the last week of July or the first week of August.
• In the second session of the Gozo FA general meeting, the clubs deplored a press release by an official of the Gozo FC regarding the participation of the team in next season's MFA competitions. It seems that the clubs favour a drastic change in the set-up of the club. A decision regarding this matter will be taken next Sunday. Meanwhile the format for next season's leagues of the GFA have been approved. Eight clubs will be taking part in a two-round First Division League with two teams being relegated and another playing a play-off against the runner-up in the Second Division. This will either consist of a two-round league between six teams or a three-round league between five teams, depending on the number of clubs who will be taking part.
• Centenary Cup Gozo FC vs San Gwann 5-1

Sun 14

• Division 3 San Gwann vs Kirkop U. 2-1, Zejtun C. vs Luqa SA 1-5
• MFA Centenary Celebrations Floriana vs St. George's 0-0 (4-2 after penalty shoot-out)
• Women's Knock-Out Melita vs Birkirkara 0-0 (3-4 after penalties)
• Gozo - Division 1 SK Victoria W. vs Sannat L. 3-4, Nadur Y. vs Ghajnsielem 0-3
• The visit of Manchester United here in Malta to meet local champions Birkirkara FC in a friendly match has still to be confirmed. Birkirkara chairman Victor Zammit and Manchester United Supporters Club (Malta) president Joe Buttigieg met Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson on Saturday and the only date which could suit the two clubs is the 9th August. However Manchester United will be playing in a tournament in Germany together with Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Milan between the 4th and 6th August and then on the 13th, they will be playing in the Charity Shield against either Chelsea or Aston Villa. Ferguson will be checking the willingness of his players to play this friendly game just before the start of the first official matches and by next Wednesday, he should confirm whether the game will be held or no.

Sat 13

• In a press release, Valletta FC condemned the incidents that took place during and after the Rothmans Trophy semi-final against Sliema. Over 70 seats were destroyed during the match and several cars which were parked in the VIP/press parking area went damaged. Meanwhile a Valletta supporter was fined Lm50 and banned for six months from entering the National Stadium.
• Division 2 Marsaxlokk vs Mqabba 2-0, Qormi vs Sta. Lucia 4-1
• Gozo - Division 1 Victoria H. vs Zebbug R. 3-0, Xewkija T. vs Xaghra U. 4-4 ... Victoria Hotspurs Champions

Fri 12

• Rothmans Trophy Hibernians vs Birkirkara 0-3. This means that Valletta will be playing in the UEFA Cup together with Sliema Wanderers while Floriana will be taking part in the UEFA Intertoto Cup where they will be meeting Staelbak of Norway.

Thu 11

• Rothmans Trophy Valletta vs Sliema W. 2-3
  Several incidents took place during and after the game. The incident which sparked all the trouble took place in the 55th when after that Valletta were awarded a penalty, Sliema goalie Ernest Barry and Valletta striker Pavel Mraz starting arguing with each other with Kris Laferla throwing the ball in the direction of Barry. Laferla was sent off and for a while the Valletta captain tried to attack the referee. Seat-throwing by the supporters followed. Other serious incidents followed, including stone throwing in the direction of the VIP parking area.
• As part of the MFA Centenary Celebrations, a friendly game between Floriana and St. George's will be held next Sunday 14th May at the Centenary Stadium. This game will be played exactly 100 years after the first ever official football game which was held in Malta between St. George's and Floriana at the Marsa Ground on the 13th May 1900 which St. George's won 3-1.
• Malta dropped one place to 117th in the FIFA World Rankings.

Wed 10

• Birkirkara will be launching their own community radio. They have applied for a licence to operate a community radio station. The club is waiting for the issue of a frequency by the Broadcasting Authority. It was also announced that next Saturday together with officials from the Manchester United Supporters Club, he will be meeting Martin Edwards and Sir Alex Ferguson, chairman and manager of Manchester United to try and fix a date for the friendly match between Birkirkara and Manchester United. The main obstacle is the fact that Birkirkara are engaged in the Champions League on the 12th and 19th July. Therefore the game could be held early in August.
• Gozo FC denied that they are thinking about dissolving the club even though many of the Gozo FA clubs are against the present structure of the club. In a press release, the club claimed that the intentions are to keep on strengthening the side for next season's First Division league.
• Five players were suspended for one Rothmans Trophy game by the MFA Disciplinary Commissioner. These are Drasko Braunovic and Michael Cutajar (both Birkirkara), Fatos Daja and Alan Mifsud (Hamrun) and Vesko Petrovic (Rabat).
• GFA Cup Xewkija T. vs Zebbug R. 2-1

Tue 9

• GFA Cup Sannat L. vs Ghajnsielem 1-0 (golden goal)

Mon 8

• The council of the Gozo Football Association is still discussing whether to take part in the MFA First Division league next season. In a meeting which was held yesterday, the council discussed a detailed report about the future of football in Gozo. The only decision which was taken so far is that if Gozo FC will keep on taking part in the MFA competitions, they will never expect similar conditions as those they had this year where they had to pay four-star accommodation in a hotel for two days to all the members of the visiting teams.
• Centenary Cup Mosta vs Victoria H. 4-3, Marsa vs Gzira U. 4-3

Sun 7

• Rothmans Trophy Hibernians vs Hamrun S. 2-1 aet, Rabat A. vs Birkirkara 1-2 ... The draws for the semi-finals are Valletta vs Sliema W. and Hibernians vs Birkirkara.
• Division 2 St. George's vs Sta. Venera L. 1-3, Melita vs Dingli S. 1-2
• Division 3 Zejtun C. vs Kirkop U. 0-3, Luqa SA vs San Gwann 1-0
• Women's Knock-Out Mosta vs Melita 0-1, Birkirkara vs Hibernians 2-0

Sat 6

• Rothmans Trophy Gozo vs Sliema W. 1-6, Valletta vs Floriana 5-4
• Division 2 Pembroke A. vs Ghaxaq 6-1, Siggiewi vs Attard 0-1

Fri 5

• The new format used this year in the Premier League, that is with a Championship and a Relegation Pool, will be retained for next season. This decision was taken by the Council of the MFA after that all Premier clubs had agreed to retain the system. The main reason behind this decision was the slight increase in the attendances.
• Centenary Cup Balzan Y. vs Tarxien R. 1-3

Thu 4

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• Gozo - Division 1 Sannat L. vs Xaghra U. 7-3

Wed 3

• Premier League clubs have agreed to retain the Premier League format used this year, that is with a Championship Pool and a Relegation Pool. It seems that the main reason behind this decision was that there was a slight increase in the attendances. This took place despite the presence of Gozo FC as few Gozitan supporters used to travel to Malta and not all the other clubs took a lot of supporters with them in Gozo.
• MFA President Dr Joe Mifsud announced details about the friendlies against South Africa and England that will be held on the 28th May and 3rd June respectively. Tickets, valid for two games and worth Lm16 (West Stand A) and Lm 13 (Rothmans/South Sides), will be on sale on the 10th May. The England national team will arrive in Malta on Thursday 1st June. Officials from the FA have already visited the island several times to make sure that there will be enough security during the stay. In fact it will not be possible for local supporters to meet the players at any time.
• Centenary Cup Pietà H. vs Birkirkara 0-2
• Three Premier league players were suspended for one match by the MFA Disciplinary Commissioner. These are Valletta's John Buttigieg and Kris Laferla and Gozo's Velibor Matanovic.
• Gozo - Division 1 SK Victoria W. vs Ghajnsielem 1-4

Tue 2

• Maltese assistant referee Emmanuel Zammit was one of the officials in the UEFA Champions League semi-final between Valencia and Barcelona.
• The draws for the Rothmans Trophy Quarter-Finals resulted as follows: Sliema W. vs Gozo FC, Valletta vs Floriana, Hamrun S. vs Hibernians and Rabat A. vs Birkirkara. These will be played on the 6th and 7th May.
• Centenary Cup Hamrun S. vs Zurrieq 4-1

Mon 1

• Division 2 Mqabba vs Qormi 0-3, Sta. Lucia vs Mellieha 1-0
• Women's League Birkirkara vs Mellieha w/o, Hibernians vs Floriana 6-0