POLICE said yesterday they were determined to take the steps suggested by British experts to end football hooliganism, following a new bout of violence late in Friday in Larnaca, which left 14 officers injured and at least eight patrol cars damaged.
Trouble flared during and after a match between Ermis and Anorthosis at the Ammochostos-Epistrofi stadium, which is situated in Larnaca.
Prior to the match, police had arrested a 21-year-old woman who tried to enter the stadium with 27 flares in his bag. She was charged and released. However other fans appeared to have entered the stadium with flares as the start of the game was delayed for five minutes because Anothosis fans fired several. The game was also delayed twice more before it ended, in this instance, Anorthosis fans started throwing objects and tried to enter the pitch.
When the match was over, which Ermis won 2:1, all hell broke loose as fans threw stones at police and their vehicles, injuring 14 officers, one of whom was treated for a concussion and kept in. The windows on at least eight patrol cars were also smashed by stone-throwing fans, as was a fire brigade truck outside the stadium.
Two others, a 21-year-old and a 29-year-old were arrested after the match. The older suspect was charged and released. Yesterday, the 21-year-old from Lymbia was remanded for three days.
Police spokesman Michalis Katsounotos, said yesterday that they were determined to put a stop to the violence.
Earlier in the week, British experts were on the island to assist the authorities and suggest methods that have been successfully used in the UK. The mid-week seminar came only days after hooligan incidents last weekend at an APOEL-Omonia match, resulted in the stabbing of an off-duty police officer.
Katsounotos said one of the experts’ suggestions was the hold matches in the afternoons rather than at night, and perhaps only have them broadcast on television.
“What is important now is the safety of those who go to football matches and not the financial interests of anyone in particular,” he said.
Referring to Friday night’s incident, he said police had photographs that would be examined to identify ‘those who behaved in an unacceptable and criminal way”, after which they would be arrested and “held accountable for their actions”.
What was even sadder on Friday was the fact that Anorthosis was celebrating 100 years of the team’s history and some fans had “just written the blackest chapters of that history”. He called it a ‘theatre of shame’.
“Violence inside or outside of sport should not be treated with either wishful thinking or verbal platitudes. The time has come for us all together to do something about this problem and move on to actions,” said the spokesman. “It is not time for the different parties involved to be passing the blame on to each other,” he added.
The spokesman said the chief of police has a report in front of him, which also includes the suggestions by the British experts. The report would be studied and specific recommendations made, he said.
