‘Football is about unity not aggression’ – Bjorn Vassallo

“The violent attack on a Malta FA match official during yesterday’s GFA Second Division League match is for me a very serious offence, equivalent to a corruption crime. It has a very negative impact and casts a very bad shadow on the game of football, repercussions that reverberate far more than the paltry fine of €100 handed out to the perpetrator of this violent crime during a sports event at a public venue.” These were the comments of Malta Football Association President Bjorn Vassallo in reaction to the deplorable incident that occurred during Saturday’s GFA Second Division League match between Sannat Lions and Oratory Youths where match official Andrea Pavia was assaulted by a player. “Today we are victims of this cowardly act but this only strengthens the resolve of an entire movement that will stand up against the leniency shown in serious cases as those that occurred in Gozo,” Vassallo added. “In the same way as we were the catalysts behind the changes in the legislation to fight corruption in sports, we will be advocating amendments to the laws and the disciplinary code to safeguard the sporting values,” Vassallo concluded.