The Football Association of Malta protested the results of the match with Ukraine

The European Football Championship in 2024 will be held from June 14 to July 14 in Germany. Our team does not participate in this tournament. At the end of February 2022, the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), like the International Football Federation (FIFA), excluded our clubs and teams from all their competitions. “Until further notice,” as the document said. After that, the Russian Football Union and domestic clubs tried to challenge this decision so that they could play at least on neutral fields. We even reached the International Sports Arbitration. But the answer was unchanged – “You can’t, wait for a response from the organizers of the tournaments.” And this despite the fact that even the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and many international sports federations have already allowed our athletes to compete, albeit in a neutral statute, on the most draconian terms. But they allowed it. And football as the most popular sport, apparently, stands apart.

However, not only we were limited. The Belarusian national team was obliged to play their home matches at stadiums in other countries, and even without spectators. Also “until further notice”.

As for the Ukrainians, their national team also plays on neutral fields.

However, this is already known. So enough of the sad stuff.

Football intrigue

The Maltese team has never been a favorite in any tournament. It is understandable – the country is small, the population is small, with football talents is not rich. The only one that stands out is Michael Mifsud, the national team’s all-time record and goalscorer who has played for Kaiserslautern, Coventry City and Barnsley in his career. At 39, he is still the captain of the national team, and local fans are praying that he will still have enough strength for a couple more years.

In qualifying for Euro 24, Malta was in the same group with England, Italy, North Macedonia and Ukraine. It is clear that there is no chance. Nevertheless, the Maltese managed to score one goal against the Macedonians on their field. And even though the match itself was lost, nevertheless, something already happened.

However, this is not the main thing.

And the main thing is that in Group C, where Malta plays, there are very “interesting” teams. The English must qualify for the European Championship. The Italians won the European Championship in 2020 but did not qualify for the 18th World Cup in Russia and the 22nd World Cup in Qatar. Which was just terrible for them. So, it is necessary to go to the Euro-24 without any questions.

The national team of North Macedonia is also not a gift. After all, it was she who did not let the Italians into the World Cup in Qatar, beating them in the play-offs – 1:0. And she managed to qualify for the 2020 European Championship, although then she took last place in her group.

And there is also the Ukrainian team. To which, no matter what anyone says, European football officials have a special attitude.

Now the most interesting.

The top two teams from the group go directly to the finals of the 2024 European Championship. And the team that took third place plays in the play-offs. And that is why games with an outsider, the Maltese, can bring the much-desired tournament points. In case of victory. But getting it is not always easy. After all, as experienced footballers say, “the field is flat, the ball is round.” And it still needs to be scored into the opponent’s goal. And the Maltese have already beaten the national teams of Israel and Luxembourg this season. And if the latter is also among the noteworthy European outsiders, then the Israelis can hardly be counted among those. Let the match be friendly, but still it is a match. It is also interesting that the Israeli goal was scored by the well-known former CSKA footballer Bibras Natkho.

So it turns out that before the game of the 4th round of the qualifying stage for Euro-24, the Ukrainians in the confrontation with the Maltese needed only a victory. Since up to this point they occupied the third line in the table, skipping ahead of Italy and England. And the third line, as mentioned above, is the play-offs, and not a direct ticket to the championship in Germany.

Weird Match

The meeting of Ukrainian and Maltese football players was held at the Anton Malatinsky Stadium in Trnava, Slovakia. All because of that UEFA decision, since the Ukrainians were the hosts this time. And I have to admit, the game was not easy for them. Perhaps because the Maltese have good memories of the Trnava stadium – two years ago, they played a draw with the Slovakian team in the selection for the World Cup 22 there.

In order not to be biased, we will quote further the website of the Maltese Football Federation, which tells about the game with the Ukrainians:

“Brave Malta is defeated by a controversial referee decision.

Not for the first time in the international arena, the Maltese national team has become the victim of controversial refereeing decisions, as Ukraine managed to win today only thanks to a penalty. Moreover, the goal was scored only from the second penalty. The first penalty in the second half, appointed after the intervention of the VAR, star player Yarmolenko smeared. The second penalty was appointed for a non-existent contact between Jean Borg and the same Yarmolenko, also after the intervention of the VAR. And this time, in the 72nd minute, Viktor Tsygankov was already hitting, who did not miss.

It remains only to praise our players for their energetic and selfless game. Because, having lost a few days earlier to the English – 0:4, this time our guys, together with head coach Michele Marcolini, definitely did not deserve defeat.

We had scoring opportunities, especially before the break. We put high pressure and forced the Ukrainians to make mistakes.

We played well defensively. Even despite the injury of our goalkeeper Henry Bonello, which he received at the end of the first half. Because young Matthew Grech, who came on as a substitute after the break, did his job well, making some great saves in the second half. He can rightly be proud of his debut on the international stage.”

Yes, the match really left a bad aftertaste.

As you understand, after the break the score was 0:0. And the Maltese didn’t look like whipping boys at all. A defeat or a draw only worsened the standings of the Ukrainians. Since the Italians still have a match in hand, they rested on this game day.

And who judged this match? Referee Ruddy Bouquet from France. And the Frenchman Benoit Millau sat on the VAR. And where is the French team in Group B? She will definitely go to the first and Euro 24, intending to win after the failure at World Cup 22, where in the final she lost to the Argentines led by the inimitable Leo Messi. And such strong rivals as the Italians are definitely not needed by the French in Germany.

Or the French judges just got scared – what if then what will happen, if you yourself understand who cannot be helped inadvertently …

Say: the fantasies of the author! Most likely, it is. It probably even is.

Just feel sorry for the Maltese. It is wrong to offend the weak. Even for the best of intentions.