AFTER the Stock Exchange, land scams, electricity theft, and other scandals, it’s the turn of football, with a club chairman on Saturday charging that a match official was routinely ‘fixing’ games.
The accusations were made at the end of the cup fixture between Olympiakos of Nicosia and Anorthosis of Famagusta, which Anorthosis won
2-0.
As soon as the final whistle blew, Olympiakos Chairman Christoforos Tornaritis accused linesman Antonis Papapanayiotou, a police officer by profession, of routinely fixing games.
The allegations became the focus of discussion on sports shows throughout the weekend, with bitter exchanges between club officials and promises from the Football Federation (KOP) that the matter would be investigated.
Anorthosis slammed the allegations as an effort to degrade the team’s victory.
Anorthosis official Christakis Pittas on Saturday said this kind of behaviour would not be tolerated, and counter-charged that his team’s goalkeeper Nicos Panayiotou had been approached before the first leg between the two teams by people who allegedly tried to bribe him.
The linesman has refused to comment, saying his lawyers had been instructed to take all necessary actions against Tornaritis.
But the fracas took a new twist on Saturday, when a Cypriot who used to play for a first division team but now lives in London backed Tornaritis’ claims, adding that club officials and other referees were involved too.
The man claimed he had also been approached by Papapanayiotou to fix a game, and said he had evidence he was ready to submit.
On Sunday, KOP Chairman Costakis Koutsokoumnis said he expected Tornaritis to hand over all the evidence backing the allegations he had made.
The federation’s Deputy Chairman Andreas Akkilides said yesterday the body would investigate the charges, adding, however, that it would be difficult to prove a case.
Akkilides said KOP would be working closely with the police, who have also launched an investigation.
He said such reports had emerged before, but nothing could be done because no one was willing to produce any evidence.
The Chairman of the Referees’ Association said he was deeply disturbed by the whole situation but was determined to get to the bottom of it.
He said he had spoken to Papapanayiotou, who denied all the accusations.
The General Manager of Olympiakos, Christos Elia yesterday said his club expected the Papapanayiotou to resign, saying it was the least he could do for the good of football.
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.
