By George Psyllides
RULING DISY chief Averof Neophytou has asked the authorities to thoroughly investigate match-fixing claims after he was named by a referee of being involved in the affair, the party said on Monday.
DISY said the party reiterated its position that claims should be investigated in depth.
“In this regard, party chairman Mr A Neophytou has contacted the attorney-general and the chief of police asking for an immediate and thorough investigation into all the reports,” DISY said in a statement.
The party said it would not revisit the matter before the probe was completed.
Neophytou’s reaction came in the wake of fresh claims made by referee Marios Panayi that Neophytou was actively involved in football fixtures “and if he does not accept it then I can prove it to him.”
In an interview with Greek-language news portal Cyprus Times, Panayi said Averof had been present at a meeting on September 25, 2010, at the office of football association deputy chairman Giorgos Koumas’ office.
“I don’t know the importance of this meeting but referees and (game) monitors were invited at the office of Mr Giorgos Koumas,” Panayi said, and Averof was the official guest.
In December, Panayi went public with allegations that match-fixing was rife in Cyprus, naming Koumas as the man pulling the strings.
He also said CFA chairman Kostakis Koutsokoumnis was a “straw-man”
“I wonder why other politicians do not have such meetings and it is the exclusive privilege of Mr Neophytou,” Panayi said.
Koumas, a friend of Neophytou, has a television production company that covers football games. It also does business with the television arm of state telecoms company CyTA.
It had been rumoured that Neophytou was partners with Koumas in the field, forcing the DISY leader to publish his assets, which showed that they did land deals together.
Panayi’s allegations back in December 2014 prompted a police investigation that has so far led to the arrests of former CFA official Michalis Spyrou and the chairman of the referees’ association Michalis Argyrou.
Both Spyrou and Argyrou were remanded for three days and have since been charged in writing and released.
Main opposition party AKEL said it will not accept a cover-up of the match-fixing affair and will insist on the need to cleanse Cypriot football.
