By Monique Agius
Jurgen Pisani, a defender who currently plays for Żabbar St Patrick, was captain of Santa Luċija at the time of the May 2024 match that led to criminal charges.
He was accused of manipulating the outcome of a football game and failing to report an offence in breach of the Prevention of Corruption in Sport Act.
He denied the charges but was found guilty in a court appearance Tuesday. He is believed to be the first footballer to be jailed for match-fixing.
The jail sentence comes just months after a separate probe by a Malta Football Association (MFA) ethics committee acquitted him in relation to the incident.
‘Take it slowly’
The MFA committee cleared Pisani of trying to bribe an opposing player by offering money during the match and lifted a temporary suspension, clearing the way for him to sign for Żabbar St Patrick.
But police pressed ahead with the case before the criminal courts, and on Tuesday a court ruled that Pisani was guilty as charged.
The May 3, 2024 match between Santa Luċija and Birkirkara when the incident occurred was a crucial one for Pisani’s team, as they needed to win to avoid relegation.
The MFA’s integrity officer, Herman Mula, was informed of concerns about Pisani by Birkirkara FC president Michael Valencia.
One of Birkirkara’s players, striker Maxuell Maia, had been approached during the match. Maia started the match on the bench and came on pitch in the 38th minute to replace Paul Mbong.
During the game, he was approached by Steve Pisani – who is not related to the accused – whom he knew from his time playing with Gżira.The striker alleged that Steve Pisani told him to “take it slowly” and that he was subsequently offered €2,000 by Jurgen Pisani.
The police were informed about the case.
Maia told the that Steve Pisani, playing for Santa Luċija, told him not to score, saying, “Samu don’t score any goals today”.
Steve Pisani did not offer him any money, he said. However, he was then approached by Jurgen Pisani, who offered him €2,000 not to score any goals.
The striker told the court that Jurgen Pisani, who was marking him, approached him and covered his mouth as he made the offer and later asked “yes or no”, and whether Steve Pisani had spoken with him.
The witness said he did not answer, but later approached Steve Pisani and told him he had “lost his respect” for Steve Pisani.
After leaving the pitch, Maia went straight to his club president, Valencia, to inform him about the matter.
Deleted messages
Police inspector Wayne Rodney Borg said the police received two separate reports about the incident. Jurgen Pisani was arrested on August 5, 2024.
The police found that both Steve Pisani and Jurgen Pisani had deleted messages exchanged between them before the match took place.
Jurgen Pisani took the witness stand in the proceedings explaining that he was a professional football player, a PE teacher, and employed by the education ministry.
At the time of the incident, he was seconded to the Maltese Olympic Committee, from which he was terminated after he was arraigned over the case.
He said that the game in question was very important for Santa Luċija, as a win would see them saved from relegation; however, the game ended in a draw, and the team was relegated. Pisani also confirmed that Maia did not start playing from the beginning but joined halfway. Jurgen Pisani denied talking to Maia.
The defence argued that Maia wanted to tarnish the Santa Luċija club or Jurgen Pisani. However, the court found no such evidence in the records of the case. It was observed that the striker declared that it was only Jurgen Pisani who offered him €2,000.
“Had he wanted to embellish his version, he would have implied that Steve Pisani also offered him money,” the court said.
‘Ludicrous’
Steve Pisani confirmed that he spoke to Maia but the court was not convinced by his description of that conversation, saying it was “ludicrous” and made no sense given the context of two players from opposing teams conversing.
It also noted that there was no animosity between Maia, Jurgen Pisani or Steve Pisani, or Santa Luċija Football Club.
Maia immediately reported the incident to Valencia, and that there was no evidence to show that the striker had any reason to invent such a story.
The court also dismissed claims that Maia did not understand English, highlighting that his version of events remained consistent throughout. It also remarked that Steve Pisani’s testimony did not make sense and that it was a poor attempt at trying to exonerate his friend, the accused.
“His attempt to misguide the court did not succeed and was counterproductive,” the court said.
Pisani testified that Maia told him, “That was not nice of you” and that Steve Pisani replied: “What was not nice of me?”
“Steve Pisani needs to decide whether Maia knows English or not and why he replied to him in such a precise manner”, the court said.
The court also observed that simple, basic, clear and comprehensible words had been used by Steve Pisani and Jurgen Pisani, which gave no room for misinterpretation or misunderstanding, with the court stating, “You do not need a diploma or an O-level to understand them.”
The court held that Maia’s testimony was credible and that he had acted immediately by reporting the matter.
It held that once Maia was on the pitch, Jurgen Pisani, as the team captain and his friend, Steve Pisani, used the latter’s familiarity with Maia to try and save their team from relegation.
“Maia chose his integrity and that of sports over his friendship with Steve Pisani,” the court said.
In its considerations on punishment, the court took into account Pisani’s clean criminal record and the circumstances of the case and that he was being found committing offences against the Prevention of Corruption in Sport Act.
It was confirmed that Pisani was a public officer since he was a supply teacher employed by the education ministry, and therefore the offences were further aggravated.
Pisani was jailed for 15 months and disqualified from participating and attending any sport events or being in any building belonging to a sporting organisation for ten years.
He was perpetually interdicted.
The court ordered that the judgment be published in the government gazette.
The court ordered that a copy of the judgment be sent to the Police Commissioner to assess whether Steve Pisani is criminally liable.
Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech presided over the court.
