I was one of the 21,000 or so Apoel fans who packed the GSP stadium on Tuesday evening in what was one of the most breathtaking encounters I have witnessed.
Needless to say we all left the ground elated as a Cypriot team, and this one in particular managed to secure a place in the elite of European football for the second time in three years.
I will not dabble on the footballing side of the night as most people will by now have read about the game or watched the goals and highlights a number of times but on what I felt were stadium inadequacies.
As I settled down in my seat an hour and a half before the game I noticed something new on the giant screen across from the main stand.
The word ‘Countdown’ was visible (though not completely) but for some inexplicable reason the countdown time was hidden (almost 90% of it) by some kind of canvas and one was left to guess on the actual countdown time.
Once the game started the giant screen that always showed us the elapsed time went blank (black rather). This was compounded by the fact the giant clock was running ten minutes fast!
Now one can argue that I am being a bit frivolous as everybody nowadays has a mobile these days with timers and stopwatches so what’s the point of complaining. It’s one thing glancing across to the other side of the ground and seeing the remaining time and another reaching for your mobile all the time.
At about the same time I was trying to read the countdown time I noticed another quite strange thing. One of the referee officials was indicating to a GSP official that the certain parts of the pitch need re-lining.
I know this can happen if there is heavy downpour or a snow blizzard but it occurred yesterday, in perhaps one of the most important games this ground has ever staged.
Having to sit anxiously for the game to begin for such a long time is not an easy thing to do especially at such temperatures and humidity.
The only ‘entertainment’ GSP provided was music from the loudspeakers and I say music in a very loose way. It sounded more like a 1970’s tape recorder at full blast. It was not music it was more of a racket. Surely GSP can afford a 21st century sound system.
However the icing on the cake for me was when, after waiting ‘in line’ for almost the whole duration of the break, I was told that the canteen had run out of water.
A lot of people did not even manage to buy anything as the second half had started. How difficult would it have been to set up another cubicle to service these fans?
Ending on a positive note I would like to congratulate the fans, and especially the much maligned ‘Portokali’ for their impeccable behaviour and their non-stop support of their team.
