Santa Lucija FC caught offside after leasing car park to Christian Borg’s Sicily by Car

SportMalta has warned Santa Lucija Football Club that it is breaching an agreement with the entity in allowing its car park to be used by Christian Borg’s Sicily by Car.

Photos sent to this newspaper showed the car park, which had not been leased to the club for commercial purposes, being used as a storage facility by Sicily by Car, which is owned by Christian Borg who faces, among other accusations, charges of money laundering, kidnapping and fraud.

Sicily by Car is owned by alleged fraudster Christian Borg (Photo: James Bianchi/MaltaToday)

The carpark, located in Dawret it-Torri Street, is currently occupied by rows of Peugeot 108 cars with the Sicily by Car branding stickered onto them.  

Italian franchise Sicily by Car is run in Malta by Princess Holdings Ltd, a company owned and directed by Borg.

A SportMalta spokesperson confirmed with MaltaToday that the club has been told to immediately removed the cars or else face legal action. 

The Santa Lucija Local Council also said on a Facebook post on Thursday it is currently in contact with SportMalta to inquire whether the club is allowed to commercialise the land as part of the agreement.

Christian Borg walks out of court (Photo: James Bianchi/MaltaToday)

“We are also confirming with the Planning Authority on whether a change of use application has been filed by SportMalta or Santa Lucija Football Club so the land can be used as commercial storage for rental cars,” the council said.

The post also saw a number of residents voicing their anger over how the land is being used, stating that in a locality with such limited parking, it should have been converted to residential parking

On 22 June, the locality’s mayor Charmaine St John had met with club president Adrian Gomez Blanco and general manager Eric Abela to “discuss a number of various proposals over possible collaboration at social and sporting level for the community.” MaltaToday reached out to the mayor, but she did not reply.

Speaking to MaltaToday, Santa Lucija FC vice-president Kevin Attard insisted the club is not in the wrong, and “it is simply exploring options on how it can sustain the club.” Attard said he had no knowldege on who Christian Borg is. 

“If the company honoured the payment, and the bank has green lit that payment, there are no problems from my end,” he said. 

He said it is a sponsorship agreement, and is part of a wider strategy by the club to sustain its operations. “We lease our bar, we are leasing our club house so that it is turned into a gym, and it is a way to continue the club’s operations.”

He insisted the area is private property, and is still being used as a car park as originally intended.

“It will not cause any disturbance, and is similar to what other clubs like Floriana FC are doing,” he said.