“It is very clear to me and to the vast majority involved in our sport that my omission from the games had nothing to do with disciplinary issues,” Andrew Gambina told Lovin Malta. 

According to the MOC, Gambina was left out of the games national team on “disciplinary grounds” where it recounted an incident during the finals of the Men’s National Championships which was described as “an act of absolute misbehaviour”.

“Firstly, my appeal during the match was in relation to a grave mistake made by the tournament director (referee) where the umpire and assistant umpire officiating the national championship final belonged to the same club as my opponent,” Gambina pointed out.

“Appealing such a decision, albeit even if the match had started, is allowable as per International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) rules – the same rules that the Malta Table Tennis Association (MTTA) follows.”

He referred to the ITTF Handbook, 2022, which states: “An appeal may be made to the referee against a decision of a match official on a question of interpretation of Laws or Regulations, and the decision of the referee shall be final.”

“Secondly, it is also worth mentioning that the tournament director did not have any dialogue with myself when intervening but simply proceeded to change the assistant umpire.”

“The question then is, why is this event being used against me when on the day the tournament director decided in favour of my appeal?”

Gambina also pointed out the lack of a formal communication from authorities.

“Under normal circumstances, a serious breach of conduct would be communicated to me in writing by the governing body, which in this case is the MOC – and not by finding out through a press release made to the media.”

“Furthermore, it is normal procedure to be given the chance to give my side of the story before a decision on my conduct is made. This did not happen in this case with the MOC acting as judge, jury, and executioner.”

Team Malta secured an unprecedented first place in the overall rankings among the nine participating nations in this year’s GSSE, ending with an impressive medal count of 38 gold, 30 silver, and 29 bronze.

However, between Gambina’s accounts as well as those of David Pace, questions have been raised as to how Malta exactly achieved this.

And it was just local criticism – after the games, a Luxembourg coach accused the island of “perverting the spirit of the Games”.

What do you make of Gambina’s perspective?