In a Press Conference held on Monday by the MFA Refereeing Department, UEFA Referees’ Committee member David Elleray praised the standard of refereeing in Malta after being present for the Premier League play-off and the two Malta FA Trophy semi-finals. David Elleray remarked that the progress achieved since his first visit to Malta in 2011 has been very encouraging and this explains why UEFA is appointing Maltese referees to more matches and final tournaments.
David Elleray pointed out that the UEFA Men’s Under 17 Final Tournament in Bulgaria for Alan Mario Sant this month and the UEFA Women’s Under 19 Final Tournament in Israel for Esther Azzopardi in July are indeed a clear indication of the trust in Maltese international referees’ ability to perform well in such important events. To add to this, Clayton Pisani has been appointed for a EURO 2016 match in June and for the first time a refereeing team of 6 match officials will be entrusted with the control of an international fixture. MFA General Secretary Bjorn Vassallo expressed the Association’s satisfaction of the progress of Maltese refereeing and thanked all those involved in the administrative team for the excellent input to achieve targets much earlier than expected. Bjorn Vassallo explained how the current MFA Administration listened to the needs of this important sector and had the courage to make the necessary changes to achieve the desired results. Director of Refereeing Adrian Casha remarked that the forthcoming international appointments are the result of very good performances by Maltese match officials in UEFA matches. Adrian Casha referred to the assessment marks as being higher than before due to the improved technical and physical preparation of our referees. Adrian Casha also announced a new recruitment campaign with the motto “Refereeing is Fun” to attract more new recruits and not depend solely on the Referees’ Academy, which since its inception in 2011 has contributed positively to the increase in the number of referees by around 55%.