Luxembourg NOC president regrets accusing Malta of ‘buying athletes’ for GSSE, MOC say

Knepper admitted he ‘misunderstood the whole situation’

Luxembourg Olympic Committee president Michel Knepper has regretted his comments over the Maltese Olympic Committee, where he alleged that Malta was buying athletes so that they could compete in the Games of the Small States of Europe, a spokesman for the MOC confirmed to the Times of Malta.

Knepper stirred controversy last weekend when, in comments made to Luxembourg news outlet RTL he criticised Malta’s athlete recruitment practices during a press conference, saying: “It’s regrettable to see a nation [like Malta] buying athletes by handing out ID cards just for these games… They did it two years ago, and apparently, it’s still happening.”

An MOC spokesman told the Times of Malta that on Monday, president Julian Pace Bonello met Knepper and he explained to his Luxembourg counterpart the rigid procedures to be followed for any individual to obtain a Passport by Merit through the specially set up scheme by the Government of Malta.

The spokesman said that Pace Bonello assured Knepper that no such athletes other than those who took part in Malta two years ago will feature in the Maltese contingent in Andorra during this week’s Games.

According to the MOC spokesman, Knepper regretted his comments and stated that he had misunderstood the entire situation.

Knepper was quoted as say that he is glad to note the Maltese Government’s support in sport. He added that the fact that such applications go through a rigorous process puts his mind at rest that the values of fair play are being respected.

Both Pace Bonello and Knepper reciprocated a successful Games during this week.

Maltese Olympic Committee general secretary Kevin Azzopardi was also in attendance.

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