Malta raises doping claims over historic 12-1 defeat...in 1983
Malta raises doping claims over historic 12-1 defeat...in 1983
SPAIN'S Royal Football Federation says Malta's claims of players using performance-enhancing drugs during the UEFA Euro Cup of 1984 are 'totally false'.
Malta's historic 12-1 defeat in the qualifier was discussed on the island's national TV show Fiebre Maldini ('Maldini Fever') with the then national team trainer Scerri and players Bussutil, Fabri and Demanuele.
They all claimed the Spanish team was guilty of doping, and even made out they drugged the Maltese side.
The show guests say 'a man in a small white dress' gave them lemons which had been laced with narcotic substances to slow down their reactions.
But it has taken over 34 years for the Maltese national team of the time to make these accusations – their epic loss at Spain's hands, which put paid to their chances of a place in the UEFA Euro '84, was on December 21, 1983.
It has not taken the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) long to respond.
“[We] strongly reject these accusations made recently by some of the members of the Maltese national team who participated at the match [in December] 1983 at Sevilla's Benito Villamarín stadium, and which have been picked up by various communications media,” said a press release.
“These assertions are totally false. They lack even the slightest grounds and are completely out of turn.
“The RFEF confirms its players are completely clean and reiterates that this match was one of the most important in the history of the Spanish national team, which ended on 12-1 and allowed it to compete in the final stage of the UEFA Euro '84, in which it came second.”
Concluding, the organisation called for 'maximum respect' for its national side and warned that it 'reserves the right to take all legal action available' against 'anyone who attempts to tarnish the good name of Spanish football'.
