First jail sentences for football hooligans

 

Three football fans were sentenced for between three and six months in jail yesterday for their role in violence that broke out after an AEK-AEL match in November 2008 which left one policeman injured.

In a sign that courts are starting to take growing football hooliganism more seriously, yesterday’s sentencing at Limassol District Court is the first time that a court has handed down a jail sentence for football hooliganism that has not been suspended.

Two of the men aged 25 and 27, from Limassol, were sentenced to six months in prison, while the 33-year-old also from Limassol was sentenced to three months as he played a lesser role in the violence. All three of them are AEL fans.

They were accused of stopping the match from running smoothly, unlawful assembly and rioting after losing the match, as well as blocking and attacking police, the use of dangerous objects and causing extensive damage to the stadium.

In the aftermath of the game a MMAD sergeant (Mobile Rapid Reaction Unit) was seriously injured, after being hit with a fire extinguisher. The physiotherapy room of the stadium was also damaged and a large number of seats were set on fire in the stands.

According to police reports, the court held that for all three fans, there were no mitigating circumstances and the sentences imposed on them are, for the first time, without suspension.

Larnaca District court imposed a three month jail sentence on two young men from Limassol, a few months ago, for similar incidents.

 

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