Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/834699
23 Sport SPORTTODAY FOOTBALL maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 31 MAY 2017 Pembroke Athleta FC handed 10-point penalty • €5,000 fine and five-year suspension from international competitions • Life ban for Uchenna Anyanwu, the former Pembroke Athleta Team Manager THE Malta FA Board to Adjudicate Charges relating to Bribery and Ille- gal Betting in Football has imposed a 10-point penalty, a fine of €5,000 and a five-year suspension from inter- national competitions on Pembroke Athleta FC after finding the club guilty of breaching the Association's Regulations on Bribery and Betting regarding football matches. In a separate ruling, Uchenna An- yanwu, the former Pembroke Athleta FC Team Manager, was banned for life from all football activities after the same Board found him guilty of violating the Association's bribery regulations. Mr Anyanwu is facing criminal charges related to offences of at- tempted bribery in two 2016-2017 Premier League matches – Pembroke Athleta FC vs Mosta FC, played on the 11th February, 2017, and Mosta FC vs Birkirkara FC, played on the 4th January, 2017. In the case against Pembroke Athle- ta FC, the Board noted that "although it did not result that the committee of Pembroke Athleta FC was involved in the alleged attempted bribery, the Rules and Regulations governing the Malta Football Association clearly state that whenever it results that a club official is involved, the club has to carry the responsibility". During the period when Anyanwu committed the alleged offences for which he has been banned for life by the MFA, he occupied the role of Pembroke Athleta FC Team Man- ager. When these allegations came to light, the Malta Football Association had immediately issued a provisional suspension against Mr Anyanwu, pending the outcome of the discipli- nary proceedings against him which have now been concluded. While taking into consideration the fact that Pembroke Athleta FC have already been relegated to a lower di- vision on sporting merits, the Board concluded: "Under these circum- stances, the Board feels that although they (Pembroke Athleta FC) should not be penalised by relegation to a further lower division, the Board de- cides to impose a fine of five thou- sand Euro (€5,000), the loss of ten (10 points) during the following foot- ball season i.e. 2017-2018 and will be barred from participating in interna- tional competitions for five (5) years." Both Pembroke Athleta FC and Mr Anyanwu have the right to appeal against the decisions of the Board to Adjudicate Charges relating to Brib- ery and Illegal Betting in Football. Coach Thomas Tuchel leaves Borussia Dortmund days after Cup win COACH Thomas Tuchel has left Borussia Dort- mund after two years in charge, the Bundesliga club said on Tuesday, days after winning their first silverware for five years in the German Cup. The club swiftly denied widespread media re- ports that Tuchel's departure was the result of a breakdown in his relationship with its manage- ment. In a statement on its website, the club and Tuchel had "gone separate ways". The 43-year-old, regard- ed as one of Germany's most innovative coaches, led the club to a second-place finish in the Bun- desliga last season and third place this term. On Saturday, Dortmund won the German Cup with a 2-1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt, their first title since winning the Bundesliga and the Cup under Juergen Klopp in 2012. The club said Tuchel's departure followed a meeting with the board, including chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke. "As the employer, Borussia Dortmund will not express itself as to the background of the separa- tion which is the result of a long process and is supported by all the club committees," said the club, asking for the decision not to be judged on rumours. "BVB attaches great importance to the fact that the cause of the separation is by no means a disa- greement between two persons," it added. "The well-being of the club Borussia Dortmund is more than about just sporting success and will always be more important than individuals and possible differences between them." Thomas Tuchel