Rival football fans cause mayhem in the capital

STONES and punches were hurled back and forth as fans of Nicosia’s arch rival football teams APOEL and Omonia clashed yet again in the early hours of yesterday morning.

The conflict caused absolute mayhem in the capital, resulting in damages to buildings and cars, both parked and moving ones.

The violent incidents happened after APOEL succeeded in progressing to the final UEFA Champions League qualifying round. The local team was defeated 1-0 away to Partizan Belgrade, but secured a place in the next round on a 2-1 aggregate win.

According to a police spokesman yesterday, damages were caused to the Omonia fan club in Pallouriotissa, as well as surrounding buildings and cars.

The incidents ended following an intervention by the police, who arrested a 23-year-old man on the spot.

A second youth was arrested yesterday following an evaluation of evidence, while a third was also expected to be arrested towards the end of the day.

“At around 11:40pm last night following the end of the match between Partizan and APOEL, around 200 APOEL fans gathered outside their fan club [in Nicosia] and celebrated their team’s success,” said the spokesman. “There were police in the area to ensure there was order. At the same time, a patrol car had been sent to the Omonia fan club to patrol the area.”

Around half an hour after midnight, he added, about 20 people, “possibly Omonia fans”, left their club on foot and headed towards Makarios Avenue, where according to witness reports, they caused damage to various cars by throwing stones.

“After an intervention by the police, they left the area and returned to their fan club. Then at around 1:30am, around 50 APOEL fans headed on foot towards the Omonia fan club, where the fans started throwing stones at each other.”

The policeman said there were around 150 fans of both teams. “The incidents ended when the police intervened. Damage was caused to parked cars and buildings in the area. In three specific cases, moving cars were hit by stones.”

He added that the extent of the damage has not yet been estimated

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