A BUS driver carrying home fans of the Anorthosis Famagusta volleyball team on the motorway was yesterday in a serious condition in hospital after a rock thrown from a motorway bridge smashed through the windscreen and struck him on the head.
Andreas Constantinou, 38 from Limassol, was rushed by ambulance to Paphos General Hospital, but, due to his serious head injuries, was later transferred to Nicosia General Hospital.
A police patrol car escorting the convoy of four buses on Friday night also sustained damage from the onslaught of rocks thrown from the bridge.
Another bus carrying Anorthosis fans was damaged by flying rocks.
According to police, the bus was ambushed by youths, waiting on top of a bridge overlooking the Paphos-Limassol motorway, who pelted the buses with rocks as they drove under at speeds of just under 100km an hour.
According to eye-witnesses on the bus, the rock came hurtling threw the window, shattering the windshield and striking the driver on the head.
Passengers rushed to the front of the bus, where they managed to grab the steering wheel and bring the bus to a stop on the motorway.
Angry supporters then blocked the motorway for one hour.
The 100 or so Anorthosis supporters had travelled to Paphos to watch their team play Paphiakos in a fourth playoff match.
The visitors ended up losing by 3 sets to 1 seriously hampering their chances of winning second place in the championship.
Anorthosis Chairman Andreas Pantelis yesterday told the Sunday Mail that he “utterly condemned” the incident.
“Obviously we utterly condemn actions like these and they have absolutely no place in our society. Has it now come down to this, attacking buses on the motorway? We will obviously be reporting the incident to the Cyprus Volleyball Federation and await their response,” he said.
Commenting on the gravity of the attack, Pantelis added: “Can you imagine what would have happened had the supporters not managed to bring the bus to a halt? To put it simply, we would have had a bus, carrying youngsters, careering out of control on the motorway and who knows what would have been the consequences of that.”
Justice Minister Sofoclis Sofocleous yesterday condemned the hooligans as “brainless”. “Sport should unite us, and people should not behave like this in our society.”
