No end to football hooliganism

FOOTBALL hooligans set fire to rolls of paper outside a recycling factory on Monday night, following the APOEL-Omonia match.

Following the game, fans leaving the GSP stadium in Nicosia started throwing firecrackers at the factory, setting the rolls of paper on fire.

Fire fighters arrived at the scene just in time to save the factory.

Police were yesterday investigating the area in a bid to spot evidence that would lead them to the culprits.

Around 20 rolls of paper were burnt in the fire, at an estimated cost of €5,000.

DISY vice president Ionas Nicolaou yesterday said the reason there was still violence in sporting areas was because those responsible for the troubles were going unpunished.

He called on the government to take specific measures to combat the phenomenon.

Nicolaou was referring to Monday’s football match between arch rivals APOEL and Omonia, where police found Molotov bombs, firecrackers and razorblades hidden in potatoes outside the GSP Stadium in Nicosia.

“The fact that a number of Molotov bombs and even razor blades in potatoes were found near the stadium proves the dangers of these antisocial behaviours, and this is something that needs to concern all implicated bodies,” he said.

The government, he added, needs to take immediate measures to deal with this phenomenon, “before it is too late”.

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.