Gaetano Farruggio (right)

Gaetano Farruggio, ex Ħamrun Spartans coach, has been handpicked by MFA President Bjorn Vassallo to work as “sports director” of the new Maltese club “Malta SA” that will be competing from next year in the Italian third division.

The news was given by Gaetano Farruggio himself in an interview with specialist on line magazine “Europa Calcio” while answering questions on why he brokered the deal with the national football teams’ new coach fellow Italian Devis Mangia.

Farruggio left his Ħamrun Spartans gig last June after acrimonious disagreements with the club’s president Nunzio Antignani.

He had just been acquitted by a Sicilian court in November 2018 after he was tried with another 30 people accused of criminal association, illegal betting and gambling. The charges were filed after “Operation Totem” that found that Farruggio and his co-conspirators used an internet-connected device that allowed them to collect payments for illegal betting.

The prosecutor Antonella Pandolfi had asked for a 6-month prison sentence for Farruggio.

Former prime minister Joseph Muscat has been named as the likely candidate to run Malta SA in the Italian league.