Mosta FC And Raiders Għargħur Come Together In Anti-Racism Display
Football teams Mosta FC and Raiders Għargħur came together in an anti-racism display before their BOV Women’s League match last night.
This comes after Raiders player Maya Lucia, who also plays on the national team, was subjected to an alleged racist attack by Mosta FC supporters last Sunday.
In response to this, the two teams held up a banner reading “#NotInMyGame #NoToRacism”, before taking a knee in a symbolic gesture. Malta Football Association (MFA) President Bjorn Vassallo went on to pass on a message of support and solidarity to Lucia before kick-off.
According to Section IX of the MFA statute, Mosta FC could face a maximum fine of €17,000 as well as a three-point league deduction over the alleged racist attack.
However, speaking to Times of Malta this morning, the MFA said it is unable to act on the incident due to the fact that the offenders were outside club grounds when the alleged attack took place.
Shortly after the alleged attack took place, a number of key figures took to social media to show solidarity with Lucia.
“Keep working and preserving and with dedication you’ll continue to achieve results both on the national team and club level,” Parliamentary Secretary for Sports Clifton Grima said.
Inclusion Minister Julia Farrugia Portelli said the incident shows the country has a long way to go to achieve full inclusion.
“A Maltese person like us got insulted and discriminated against because of her skin colour,“ Farrugia Portelli said.
“A fair society should never tolerate this abuse!”