Police seek hooligan after flare injury

POLICE were yesterday searching for a football hooligan who seriously injured a team physiotherapist with a flare at a top clash on Saturday.

The incident happened as the teams took to the field before the Apollonas-Anorthosis game in Limassol.

As the teams entered the pitch, fans launched dozens of flares. One of the flares, apparently launched by a flare-gun, hit Apollonas physiotherapist George Asprogenous on the leg, fracturing his shin.

Asprogenous was rushed to the Hygeia clinic, where he underwent emergency surgery.

Doctors said they would operate again on the wound in 10 days, which would take six months to heal completely.

Police immediately began searching for the man who fired the flare. They believe he is an Apollonas fan, since the flare came from their side of the stand.

Police have examined footage from closed circuit cameras, but it has failed to provide them with any clues.

Health Minister Frixos Savvides, a former Apollonas chairman, who was at Saturday’s match, called for the "murderer" to be arrested and punished. He urged spectators who know anything about the incident to step forward and help the police.

He was echoed by current club chairman George Papas who said he wanted the "murderer" found and punished accordingly.

"This action is a stab in the back for the game and I urge the police to find and arrest the guilty person," Papas added.

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