September 17 – The president of Cyprus has called out the national FA for shirking its responsibilities in helping to stamp out hooliganism and violence.
President Nikos Christodoulides singled out the federation and its president George Koumas for “hiding behind” their own autonomy.
“They have responsibilities, we warned them about all of this but they continue to hide,” Christodoulides said.
His remarks came after authorities postponed a first-division match between crosstown rivals Apollon Limassol and AEL Limassol on Sunday when hundreds of AEL fans clashed with police and rushed the stadium gates.
With the match abandoned before a ball was kicked, fans exiting the stadium again clashed with police, throwing rocks and other projectiles which resulted in three officers sustaining injuries.
The ongoing controversy revolves around a government push to extend a full ban on all away team fans that was imposed last year to curb violence. The Cyprus Football Association instead ruled that for this season a maximum 800 of away team fans would be allowed. Over 1,000 AEL fans showed up for Sunday’s high-profile derby.
Justice Minister Marios Hartsiotis told the state broadcaster that the FA was warned of impending trouble and to steer AEL fans away from the stadium. He said Koumas assured that all would go smoothly after consulting the rival teams’ presidents.
In a statement, the Cyprus FA condemned the violence and said appropriate punishments would be meted out. But it defended its decision to allow AEL fans in the stands because the trouble was strictly supporters clashing with police and not the direct consequence of rival fans fighting.
“We don’t believe it’s right that every instance where undesired actions happen should be used as a reason to ban away fans,” the FA wrote.
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