Keeper who was fouled by false bribery claims

For two years goalkeeper Simon Agius lived in the shadow of unfounded bribery accusations. He speaks to Kurt Sansone about his ordeal. Simon Agius was having dinner with his teammates at a hotel where they gathered for a retreat on the eve of an important football match. The game had to determine which team would play in the Europa League, a European club competition. But Mr Agius’s two-year career stint with Premier League club Sliema Wanderers came to an abrupt end that evening, two years ago. The president, coach and a club official accused him of taking a bribe to sell off the game. “I was shocked,” he says in a sombre tone, recalling the phone call he received in his room at 11.45pm from the coach. “They claimed to have proof but I was innocent and urged them to report the case to the police.” Mr Agius, 34, a goalkeeper, was distraught. After a grilling session where he denied every charge levelled against him, Mr Agius was in no state to play and left the hotel. He abandoned the team and the following morning reported the matter to the police. “I tried asking the Malta Football Association to postpone the game until the matter was cleared up but they could not and Sliema...