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maltatoday, SUNDAY, 15 JANUARY 2017 10 News Pardoned cheat 'whistleblower of convenience' MATTHEW AGIUS QUESTIONS have been raised over the credibility of testimony which for- mer Valletta footballer Seyble Zammit gave in exchange for a pardon, as a court heard an appeal against the acquittal of another player involved in the scandal. Zammit admitted cor- ruption charges in April in return for being made exempt from punishment for collaborating with the investigation into related cases. But when, in Au- gust, two other players al- leged to have been involved in the conspiracy – Emmanuel Briffa and Kyle Cesare – were also declared innocent, the Attorney General filed an appeal against their ac- quittal. Cesare and Briffa were found not guilty of fixing a March 2016 Under-21 game between Malta and Montenegro, that Malta went on to lose 1-0, because presid- ing Magistrate Joe Mifsud was told that plans to rig the match had been abandoned before the two players even broached the subject of monetary compen- sation. In a sitting before the Court of Criminal Appeal on Thursday, Briffa's defence coun- sel laid out the case for dismissing the ap- peal. Lawyer Stefano Filletti chipped away at what he called Zammit's "flamboy- ant lack of cred- ibility", arguing that the prosecution had based its entire case on Zammit's "false and inconsist- ent testimony". He said Zammit's endgame was clear when he chose to testify, in an effort to escape the conse- quences, and chose to fabricate a story. "Unfortunately, he suc- ceeded in getting away scot-free," Filletti argued. He also said the prosecution had hinted that there would be more witnesses and evidence incrimi- nating Briffa, but this additional evidence was never exhibited dur- ing the testimony given by Zam- mit. Briffa's lawyer pointed out that had Zammit not been accorded the opportunity to testify against his client, he would have been sit- ting in the dock beside him. In fact, when questioned by police, Zam- mit had never mentioned Briffa at all; it was only after the prospect of freedom and complete immunity from punishment were dangled before Zammit, that Briffa's name cropped up, Filletti argued. He said this contributed to "a massive problem with the credibil- ity of Seyble Zammit's testimony." Filletti argued that the pardoned football cheat had implicated Brif- fa in something he had no part in, and that under cross-examination, he himself had told the court that at no point had he ever offered money to the other players, but had only offered to organise a meeting with former footballer and accused Ronnie Mackay. Filletti said Zammit's incon- sistencies were revealed when he claimed that he had been under pressure to throw the game un- der pain of a €7,000 refund for the travel expenses of the Chinese betting syndicate that travelled to Malta to commission the opera- tion. But he later testified to tak- ing the €7,000, and later on said he had only been promised the sum. "One can only conclude that Sey- ble Zammit lied under oath," Fil- letti said. The defence lawyer called Zam- mit a "whistleblower of conveni- ence" acting solely out of self-in- terest, who had "acted with great malice, incriminating Emanuel Briffa to save his own skin." Filletti said his client was scared of Zammit, because Zammit thought nothing of using vio- lence against those who defied his wishes, the lawyer said – pointing to the recent arson attack on a car belonging to sports journalist San- dro Micallef, allegedly targeted for reporting a match's final score. The footballer had wanted noth- ing to do with these activities, the lawyer said, but his refusal of Zammit's offers had been less than emphatic "simply because he was being cautious in his actions." The case continues. La dolce vita #OneStepCloser *Terms and conditions apply. Offer valid until 28 February 2017. Approved and issued by HSBC Bank Malta p.l.c., 116, Archbishop Street, Valletta VLT1444 which is regulated by the Malta Financial Services Authority. Enjoy the good life and win your money back with our Credit Cards. WIN your money back up to €500 * Click hsbc.com.mt/onestepcloser Call 2380 2000 Visit your local branch SMS send text message "CREDIT CARD" to 7900 2380 (Normal SMS tariffs apply) HSBCMalta HSBC_MT Emmanuel Briffa (left) and Kyle Cesare Seyble Zammit