By Andrew Warshaw
May 29 – Almost two years after the original sanction, former Malta midfielder Kevin Sammut has had his life ban reduced to 10 years by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) but his career is still effectively over.
UEFA originally banned Sammut for 10 years in August 2012 but its own appeals panel increased that to life based on evidence from a pair of convicted fixers including Marijo Cvrtak, a member of a notorious Croatian betting syndicate.
The Valletta midfielder, who has always protested his innocence, was found to have been guilty of helping to fix a 2008 European Championship qualifier against Norway, who won the game 4-0 with three goals in the last 18 minutes. Sammut, who was substituted at half time, was one of three players cited by UEFA’s Control and Disciplinary Body but the only one sanctioned.
“CAS have overturned the judgment from a life ban into a 10-year suspension,” Lucio Sciriha, who represented Sammut together with his father Michael, said. “UEFA have also been ordered to pay all the costs related to this case.”
FIFPro, the international players’ union, have long questioned the gravity of the punishment meted out to Sammut and in its judgment, CAS noted that, although it still found Sammut guilty, the lifetime ban was disproportionate to the role he had in the case.
Sciriha explained further, saying Sammut was a “pawn in a much larger game” and told Maltese media the CAS decision was a majority verdict but not unanimous. “Kevin Sammut reiterates his innocence and has done everything possible, given the limitations he has encountered, to clear his name,” he said.
Taking into consideration Sammut’s financial limitations, the CAS ordered UEFA pay the court’s expenses, Sciriha added.
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