Strict measures for weekend football

IN LIGHT of repeated recent displays of hooliganism at football matches, police yesterday announced a series of measures ahead of tomorrow’s match between two of the island’s top teams.

The match, between Anorthosis and Apoel, will take place at Antonis Papadopoulos Stadium in Larnaca at 4pm.

Both sides agreed that Anorthosis fans would occupy the West, North and East Stands, while Apoel fans would sit in the South Stands, police said. A space between the West and North Stands would be left empty for security reasons.

To ensure the smooth arrival and departure of fans from the stadium, Apoel fans will be asked to use Papanikolis Avenue. Anorthosis fans sitting in the North and West Stands will be asked to use Lysou Sandama Avenue and the roads from Kokkines and ‘Aktipito’, while fans sitting in the East Stands will be asked to use the side roads from the Ayion Anargiron housing estate, police said.

Regarding traffic around the stadium, police said Papanikolis Avenue would remain closed from where it joined Lysou Sandama Street until Ayias Theklas Street from 1pm until the end of the game.

Flares, firecrackers or any other dangerous items were strictly forbidden and banned from the stadium, police said. Banners containing political or obscene slogans and clothes emblazoned with political symbols were also banned.

Police and both sides called on fans attending the match to display sportsmanship and respect towards the other team.

Officers would be on site throughout the game to ensure the match was carried out smoothly and to protect fans.

Fans are urged to turn up at the stadium at least 30 minutes before the game begins to avoid their own inconvenience. The stadium doors will open to the public at 2pm, police said.

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.