THE man who assaulted an off-duty police officer because he supported a rival football team pulled a knife from his boot and tried to stab him in the face, a Nicosia court heard yesterday.
The officer was a passenger in a friend’s car on their way to last Saturday’s game between archrivals Omonia and APOEL, when he was stabbed three times on his left arm, which he used to protect his face.
Police arrested two youths – a 19-year-old hairdresser and a Greek national, 21 — in connection with the incident.
The pair were yesterday remanded in custody for three days after it was determined they had been present at the scene, on the Latsia flyover, when the stabbing took place.
They both denied any involvement in the actual stabbing.
This appeared to be true for the 19-year-old, who did not fit the description of the individual who wielded the 20-centimetre-long knife. The duo, both short and slender, followed the procedure standing side by side outside the wooden dock.
Police said the officer and his friend were caught up in a traffic jam on their way to pick up another friend from Latsia, before attending the game at the GSP nearby.
It was around 5pm — an hour before the game – when a convoy of motorcycles carrying APOEL fans appeared on the flyover on their way to the stadium.
The APOEL fans saw the two friends, who were wearing the green and white colours of Omonia and immediately moved against them, shouting abuse.
Numerous APOEL supporters who had their faces covered – hoods and scarves and balaclavas – surrounded the car and started hitting it, some using clubs, metal pipes and other “sharp objects” the police said.
One fan smashed the driver’s window while another opened the front passenger door and kicked the officer.
The officer “noticed another individual, behind the one kicking him, pulling a knife from the (military style) boot his was wearing … and tried to stab him in the face,” the court heard.
The officer used his arms to protect his head, sustaining three wounds to his left arm.
After this the fans jumped on their bikes and continued towards the GSP.
The 19-year-old suspect was located by police at the hairdresser’s were he works on Wednesday but he denied any involvement.
He later agreed to take part in an identification line-up where he was recognised by the officer who had been assaulted “as one of the persons on a motorcycle on the front of the convoy.”
The officer said he saw the suspect, whose face was not covered, climb off the motorcycle and run towards the car. The officer could not say whether the 19-year-old took part in the assault – without however ruling it out.
“But he ruled out the possibility of him being the person who stabbed him because that person’s description is different,” the court heard.
The suspect admitted being part of the convoy, saying he rode pillion on a motorcycle driven by the second suspect. The 19-year-old claimed he stood back and watched as the others smashed the car and assaulted its two passengers.
The second suspect said he remained on the motorcycle watching the incident and did not see his friend doing anything illegal.
Asked by the judge if he objected to his remand, the Greek youth who arrived in Cyprus five months ago and appeared in court without a lawyer, said he did not want to lose wages for something he did not do.
“I object to the remand. I am going to lose my wages for trouble I have not caused,” he told the court. The 19-year-old’s defence lawyer had no objection to his detainment for three days saying that his client was ready to cooperate with the authorities.
Police said they expected to interview around 50 people in connection with the incident.
