MFA board turns down Paul Mbong appeal against Birkirkara suspension, fine

Paul Mbong lost his appeal against his former club Birkirkara after he was sanctioned for improper conduct in the build-up to the team’s Premier League final against Ħamrun Spartans.

The Stripes charged Mbong to appear in front of the club’s disciplinary board and accused him of improper behaviour after he was accused of being in a public place until the early hours of the morning on the eve of their Premier League final against Ħamrun Spartans.

The club found the player guilty of breaching the club’s code of ethics and suspended him for 27 days, handing him a one-month salary fine as well as a further €600 fine.

Mbong was not included in Birkirkara’s squad for the FA Trophy semi-final and final.

However, the player was still selected by Malta coach Emilio De Leo for June’s World Cup qualifiers against Lithuania and the Netherlands, much to the disappointment of the club who accused the governing body of ignoring the player’s gross misconduct.

During his hearing in front of the MFA’s Dispute and Resolution Body, Mbong contended that, given that the €600 fine imposed on him by the club was the maximum penalty he could have received according to the club’s ethics code, the additional 27-day penalty was not fair.

However, the MFA board rejected this plea as they said that the two punishments complemented each other and one doesn’t exclude the other.

Mbong also lamented that he was not notified of the formal disciplinary proceeding and was not assisted by a lawyer.

However, this complaint was again rejected as the player was given a 48-hour notice of the hearing, and he had all the time to be assisted by a lawyer.

Mbong also contested the members forming the Neutral Body that conducted the disciplinary procedures and said that they were biased individuals involved in the current and past administrations of the club.

The MFA board turned down this complaint as the player could have opted to recuse the members from the hearing, but he opted against. It was only in the appeal that he presented this complaint, as an afterthought, and it couldn’t be accepted.

Thus, the MFA Dispute Resolution Body rejected Mbong’s appeal and confirmed the ruling taken by the club’s disciplinary board.

Mbong’s contract with Birkirkara has since expired, and the player is free to join any other club.