Opposition MP questions police findings over UEFA claims
THE police have found no evidence to back claims by European football governing body UEFA that four local football matches in 2010 were fixed and now consider the case closed.
On Friday, the police announced that the force had been unable to gather enough evidence to draw up a criminal case.
“From the moment that the file containing UEFA’s claims on fixed football games was handed to the police, towards the end of March 2010, the case was immediately investigated, all the necessary actions were taken, and interrogations and examinations were made; the police did everything they could do within the powers offered by the law,” the police announced.
“The whole procedure was quite time-consuming, due to the fact that it involved an especially complicated case,” the announcement added.
The force was strongly criticised by the Chairman of the House Legal Affairs Committee, DISY’s Ionas Nicolaou, on Friday, for failing to conclude the investigation in over 16 months; especially as a massive scandal had broken out in neighbouring Greece with authorities unravelling evidence for a series of fixed games and doping cases.
But a police spokesman said yesterday: “The police feel that wrong impressions are being created and that it is wrong for some to attempt to make comparisons to the similar case that it is developing in Greece, where the prosecuting authorities operate under a completely different legal framework.”
Nicolaou was left wondering whether the case had been investigated on the quiet – as Police Spokesman Michalis Katsounotos claimed on Friday – or was “closed on the quiet”.
He wondered whether the police had officially informed the Cyprus Football Association (CFA) and UEFA on the outcome of the investigation’s outcome, before announcing it publicly.
Nicolaou was also incensed by the police hinting that the police force’s work had been restricted by the law.
“The legal framework did not prevent the police from fully investigating the case of fixed games in Cyprus,” said Nicolaou. “The police’s excuse that the prosecuting and legal authorities in Cyprus and Greece operate following a different legal framework cannot be used as an excuse for the police, nor can it ever be accepted because in essence (the force) is claiming that our legal framework prevents the investigation of criminal cases and the punishment of suspects.”
He blasted local police for refusing to seek the help of UEFA in investigating the case, saying it was the European federation’s advice that helped lead the Greek authorities to the shocking revelations.
“It would be better if the police asked for the help of UEFA or the Greek prosecuting authorities on the ways the cases were investigated and evaluate its conclusions, instead of claiming there wasn’t enough evidence to substantiate a criminal case,” said Nicolaou.
The fact that the police only issued an announcement after being publicly urged to do so was deemed “unacceptable” by the DISY deputy, who wondered whether the aim was to let the case close quietly without anyone taking notice.
He called on the Attorney-general, Petros Clerides, to declare his stance on the matter and clarify whether there was indeed insufficient evidence.
Meanwhile, UEFA vice chairman Marios Lefkaritis yesterday told the CyBC that once the police reached its conclusions, there really wasn’t anything UEFA could do about it.
The same rules applied to all football federations, he added, though Cyprus’ authorities – unlike Greece – didn’t seek UEFA’S advice on how to proceed with the investigation.
The infamous “UEFA files” arrived at Police Headquarters in Nicosia on March 23, 2010, after being handed over by CFA head Costas Koutsokoumnis. The files contained what UEFA said was information that raised suspicions over a number of local matches, mainly gathered from dubious goings-on in the football betting industry.
UEFA handed over two yellow and two red files on four matches that it said could have been fixed for betting purposes.
Yellow files indicate that the match “could have been fixed”, while red shows the game was “most probably fixed”.
The matches were played between February 2 and March 13 last year and involved first-division teams AC Omonia, Ethnikos Achnas, APOP Kinyras, Ermis Limassol, APEP and Enosis Neon Paralimniou.
