Apollonas punished for fan violence

APOLLONAS Limassol have been forced by the Cyprus Football Association (CFA) to play their next home game at a neutral venue as punishment for violent incidents that took place during the team’s derby against AEL Limassol.

Apollonas fans, disgruntled at their team’s 2-4 defeat by arch rivals AEL, set fire to seats and hurled objects onto the pitch, even as fire fighters tried to put out the flames.

The CFA Disciplinary Committee took into consideration Apollonas fans’ history of football violence, handing them the maximum fine of £1,500 for the incidents caused during the super cup match.

The Limassol team will play at a neutral venue for their game against Ethnikos Achnas in two weeks’ time.

So far in this year’s championship, which began in mid August, the CFA has handed out a total of ten penalties.

Olympiakos Nicosia player Afonso Ivo Rafael Brandao was fined £200 for hitting his Nea Salamina Famagusta opponent in the face with his elbow, while Enosis Paphos player Ioannis Sfakianakis was banned for one game game for kicking an opponent in the leg.

Enosis Neon Paralimniou got fined £100 plus £110 for fans throwing objects onto the pitch and Omonia Nicosia was made to pay £750 for the serious incidents that took place during the team’s clash with Ayia Napa.

AEL Limassol got penalised £1,000 for causing serious incidents and a further £200 for entering the pitch during celebrations for the team’s win over rivals Apollonas.

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.