LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (MNA/ITALPRESS) – On the eve of the 20th edition of the Games of the Small States of Europe (GSSE), set to officially open this Monday in Andorra, serious allegations have been leveled against Malta by the President of the Luxembourg Olympic Committee (COSL), Michel Knepper.
In a sharp critique, Knepper accused Malta of “buying athletes” to compete in the Games, a move he described as a betrayal of the spirit of the sporting event. He expressed deep concern about Malta’s recruitment process, alleging that the country is fast-tracking citizenships for foreign athletes solely for the purpose of boosting its chances at the Games.
“It is disappointing to see a nation like Malta handing out identity cards just for these Games. They did it two years ago, and apparently, it’s still happening,” Knepper stated. The allegations come in the wake of mounting tension in Malta’s own sporting community. Recently, Malta’s reigning table tennis champion, Gabriel Grixti, voiced anger and frustration on social media after being left out of the national team for the upcoming Games.
Grixti claimed that the Maltese government and Olympic Committee issued passports to four non-Maltese athletes just days before the competition.
-Photo IPA Agency-
(ITALPRESS).
