CFA appeal board rejects Omonia ban plea

 

THE APPEALS Body of the Cyprus Football Association (CFA) yesterday rejected a plea to temporarily suspend a six-month pitch ban dished out to the coach of Nicosia football club Omonia until his appeal could be heard. 

Chairman of the Appeals Body, Haris Kyriakides, refused to exercise his discretionary powers to suspend the sentence, ruling that the appeal would be heard swiftly.  

The CFA judicial committee recently issued a controversial decision to hand a six-month pitch ban to Omonia coach Neophytos Larkou and chairman Miltiades Neophytou after a referee accused them of assaulting him at the end of a fixture in October.

Larkou was accused of pushing the ref on the shoulder, while Neophytou attempted to hit Christos Elia in the face while shouting obscenities.

Omonia has appealed the decision, which angered fans who warned of reprisals. In the meantime, Larkou applied to have the ban suspended until the appeal could be heard. 

In the first ruling of its kind since the Appeals Body was set up this summer, Kyriakides said he saw no exceptional circumstances calling for him to suspend the sentence until the appeal is heard. Having studied Supreme Court case law and UEFA and FIFA rulings, he argued that suspending a sentence when an appeal has been filed was very rarely done.  

“I have no doubt that Larkou’s case does not justify me exercising my discretionary power to suspend his sentence. I have no doubt that the sport’s interest is much higher than the personal or professional interest of any coach, player or official,” said Kyriakides. 

The Appeals Body aims to conclude the appeal swiftly which begins this Thursday, he added.  

Meanwhile, based on the CFA’s latest rules, Larkou’s sentence officially starts today, eight days after it was issued, allowing the coach to attend  last night’s match. 

 

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