Maltese Ref Suspended After UEFA Cup Bribe Attempt

If you’re going to fix a game, then you should try and aim for one that no one cares about. At least that might have been the philosophy behind a reported attempt to fix a UEFA Cup game last month between Marsaxlokk of Malta and visiting Croatian team Slaven Belupo.

The Malta Football Association has suspended veteran referee Joe Attard and Albanian coach Ilir Pelinku, who has played and coached on the island for several years, as a result of its investigation into the failed attempt to fix the game. Belupo won the game 4-0.

Tantalizingly, there are no further details. Such as how the perpetrators might have explained away the suspicious fact that a team from Malta had won a UEFA Cup game.