APOEL finished the regular season with a 12-point cushion over arch-rivals Omonia after a convincing 2-0 victory over AEL in the final round of the national championship at the GSP Stadium in Nicosia over the weekend.
However, the press conference after the match probably brought more excitement than the game itself as AEL’s Dutch coach Raymond Atteveld laid into the match officials.
“We knew that it would be difficult to play against APOEL on their home ground. It is hard to play 11 against 11, never mind 12 or even 13 against 11 as we had to do today.”
APOEL coach Ivan Jovanovic wouldn’t be provoked into reacting however, as he patiently waited for his turn to speak.
“I do not know what to say, how many players we had and how many players the other team had. I do not even know why I have to be at a press conferences such as this one, sitting here and commenting on anything like that,” Jovanovic said.
“I think this was just a normal game and I do not even want to hear those accusations.
I am disappointed with such statements when they are not backed up with any evidence. APOEL were better today and won fairly, that is my opinion,” concluded Jovanovic.
Omonia lost 2-0 to Apollonas in Limassol and their coach Dusan Bajevic afterwards yet again reflected on the atmosphere within his squad.
“Congratulations to our opponents. They were much better than us today,” he said. “We were terrible and this level of performance is unacceptable. We cannot go forward playing like we did today. Everything I said at the last press conference I still stand behind and I will always take full responsibility.
“I hope that the players will take a moment and think about their attitude and how they are performing, if they want to have any future with this club.
“In the next few days I will have a meeting with the president and the players. We must start performing at a much higher level in the play-off matches that are ahead of us,” Bajevic added.
Elsewhere, the other two teams that will now form Group 1 in the play-offs – Anorthosis and AEK – beat Ethnikos in Achna 2-0 and AEP Paphos 2-1 respectively.
Apart from the two Limassol outfits in Apollonas and AEL, Olympiakos Nicosia and Enosis Neon Paralimni will compete in Group 2 of the play-offs.
In the final round of regular season matches, Olympiakos topped Doxa Katokopia 2-1 at the Makario Stadium in Nicosia, while Enosis Neon Paralimni trounced Alki 3-0 away from home.
Ethnikos Achnas, Alki and AEP will be joined by Ermis Aradippou in play-off Group 3, while APOP Kinyras Peyias and Doxa Katokopia have now been officially relegated.
