Arrested football fan released on bail

By Constantinos Psillides

The 25-year-old man arrested in connection with the interruption of the championship match of AEL-APOEL last week was released on Monday, after posting €10,000 bail.

The man is to appear before the Limassol District Court on June 20, to face charges of igniting a flare while on the stadium stands, which led to the interruption of the game.

The 25-year-old AEL fan was the cause of the interruption of the crucial championship game, after he allegedly shot a cracker at the APOEL bench and injuring a player who has to be hospitalised.

Limassol police published photo of the alleged culprit, who appeared to be wearing a hoodie, sunglasses, and a bandana to cover his face. AEL’s club president Andreas Sofocleous had promised to pay €5,000 to anyone who gave information regarding the fan’s whereabouts.

Cyprus Football Federation (CFA) decided last week the game –that will decide the championship – be repeated on neutral grounds without fans. The decision angered APOEL fans, who argue that the according to CFA law the ruling should have favoured their team, since the referee in his report cites the cracker shot by AEL as the reason he interrupted the match.

APOEL fans are voicing their disagreement by staging a march in Nicosia on Tuesday. According to a press release issued by the team’s fan club, the fans demand that “justice is done” and that “CFA doesn’t equate the guilty with the innocent”.

The march will take place at 7.15pm at the Kolokassides roundabout.

 

 

 

 

 

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.