Better measures promised to tackle football violence

JUSTICE Minister Doros Theodorou yesterday pledged that he would do everything in his power to ensure that football stadiums become better equipped to deal with violence amongst spectators.

In January, police, government and football club officials travelled to England in an effort to get advice from experts on how to beat the problem of violence at football grounds on the island once and for all.

Before the trip, Theodorou had met with British High Commissioner Peter Millet, who recently offered Britain’s help after serious violence erupted during a match between AEL Limassol and APOEL last year. During the fracas a police officer died from a heart attack and 27 people were injured.

Speaking at the Cyprus Amateur Football award ceremony, the Minister stated that there would be many changes in the near future around football grounds across the island.

“Already we are in the process of implementing a legislation which would see the compulsory presence of stewards at all of the island’s stadiums.”

Theodorou also said that all stadiums would soon have closed-circuit TV cameras around the grounds and on the terraces as well as a computer maintained ticketing system in an effort to stop overcrowding – which occurs when there is a higher number of spectators than capacity allows.

“It is vital that the problem of violence at sport games is properly tackled. With these new measures, people that cause trouble can be individually prosecuted.”
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The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.