Sammut’s life ban appeal in sport’s highest court set for February 2014

A European Championship match-fixing case will be heard at sport's highest court in February. The Court of Arbitration for Sport says it scheduled the delayed appeal of Malta midfielder Kevin Sammut on 12 February. A previous court date in October was postponed.

Sammut, 32, is challenging his life ban from football for allegedly helping to fix Malta's 4-0 loss against Norway in a Euro 2008 qualifier. He denies colluding with a Croatian-led syndicate to manipulate the June 2007 match for a betting scam. He was substituted at halftime in Oslo when the score was 1-0.

UEFA's appeal committee expelled Sammut after he was originally banned for 10 years. UEFA used convicted fixer Marijo Cvrtak as its main witness to prosecute Sammut, who was Maltese player of the year in 2007-08.

Sammut was banned for life from any football-related activity over match-fixing allegations made in May 2011. According to co-conspirator Mario Cvrtak, who was convicted by a German criminal court in Bochum of match-fixing, the UEFA qualifier between Malta and Norway played on 7 June 2007 had been fixed.

It was alleged that a number of Maltese players had conspired with Cvrtak and bookmaker Ante Sapina, prior to the match, to fix a result which favoured Norway by at least four goals, in return for €70,000.

Lawyers Michael and Lucio Scriha said they will face the Court for Arbitration of Sport to request it to annul and revoke the UEFA appeals board's decision, to order UEFA to pay Sammut all costs and legal fees incurred in the course of proceedings and award Sammut any damages it deems appropriate.