Cyprus-Forum.com

[kurupetos]

AEK Larnaca? Good choice. The synagogue is in Larnaca. Don't celebrate Hanukkah in the stadium though. The others might not like it.

You must be a very confused little leprechaun because his avatar is the Greek flag yet his alias sounds Jewish!

He likes Greek music. Good chap.

[shmuel16]

2010.......The real HOOLIGANS of CYPRUS

[shmuel16]

2009....AEL - APOP Kinyras Cyprus Cup Final 0-2 Hooligans

[Cap]

2010.......The real HOOLIGANS of CYPRUS

Soccer Kaffirs.

[B25]

This is an absolute disgrace.
All teams should be fined and held responsible for their supporters action. Shut down those f teams. Waste of public money. Axristi!

[shmuel16]

2008 HOOLIGANS .......

[shmuel16]

2013...... Fans attack ref in pre-season football friendly
By Peter Stevenson

http://cyprus-mail.com/2013/08/12/fans- ... -friendly/

Referees have called for stricter punishments after football fans attacked a referee on Saturday following a pre-season friendly.

The attack against Leondios Trattos, the chairman of the referee association, took place after a game between Nicosia side Omonia and Aris of Limassol at Pelendri.

Omonia fans have held a grudge against Trattos since 2004, when he refereed a match that they believe cost them the title, drawing 1-1 with Paralimni.

Neither club had asked for police presence at the match, which is usually the case with friendly fixtures.

According to the referees’ association’s general secretary Marios Panayi, Trattos was attacked by several Omonia supporters

The referee had to leave the stadium in a police car and was later taken home by another referee.

Despite being injured, Trattos refused to go to hospital to receive medical attention, Panayi told the state broadcaster on Sunday.

Trattos gave a statement to police on Sunday, identifying three people who attacked him.

No arrests have been made yet.

Referees said hooligans were out of control.

“The hooligans’ actions have taken on an uncontrollable form, which is being tolerated by everyone, especially the state,” referees said in a statement.

The lack of strict punishment, indeed the absence of any punishment for such crimes, allowed hooligans to put lives at risk, the referees said.

“Hooligans on Saturday could not even be restrained by members of both clubs, and especially Omonia chairman Stelios Mylonas, who attempted to shield the battered referee,” the statement added.

The association called on the state to take the necessary measures to punish those who took the law into their own hands. It called on the Cyprus

Football Association (CFA) to take measures to also help prevent such incidents from occurring again.

“The CFA should not permit friendly matches from taking place at unsuitable pitches and should cooperate with clubs to find ways to rid the country from hooligans,” the statement added.

Omonia apologised to Trattos and condemned the incident.

The club said its board will hold an emergency meeting to discuss the events and has also expressed their readiness to discuss the matter with the referees.

The CFA said it would act decisively to contribute to the best of its abilities to help prevent acts of ‘terrorism’ which only cause damage to football on the island.

“During a period when clubs are making huge efforts to survive financially, behaviour like this only causes more problems and we hope police investigations will lead to those responsible being charged,” a CFA statement said.

Despite pompous statements frequently uttered by officials, little has been done on the ground to crack down on hooliganism.

Nine Apollon fans were arrested in July following trouble before a friendly game between their team and Anorthosis at the Antonis Papadopoulos stadium in Larnaca.




‘There are no friendly games in Cyprus’
By Peter Stevenson

THE 20-YEAR-OLD man severely injured in Larnaca on Friday night after trouble broke out between Anorthosis and Apollon fans during a friendly match, is still in the intensive care unit of Nicosia general hospital although doctors have downgraded his status from critical to severe.

Nine Apollon fans were arrested on Sunday morning in connection with the trouble and Larnaca district court later remanded two of them for five days and the other seven for three days.

Chief investigator Marios Papachristophorou had told the court on Sunday that the 20-year-old had suffered second degree burns which were caused by a Molotov cocktail. Eight police officers suffered light injuries during the troubles.

Papachristophorou sad that rocks, bats, flares and homemade Molotov cocktails were used during the battles between the two sets of fans, and police.

Fifteen minutes into the friendly a group of Apollon fans approached the Antonis Papadopoulos Stadium in Larnaca carrying various weapons and attempted to provoke Anorthosis fans who were already watching the match, police spokesman Andreas Angelides said.

“A group of Anorthosis fans left the stadium and trouble started between the two groups of supporters and the police. Members of the force were forced to use teargas to break-up the fighting,” he said. He added that the trouble lasted for about an hour.

“Apollon fans’ behaviour was inexcusable and it would appear that they planned the whole thing as they travelled with Molotov cocktails, looking to cause trouble,” he said.

It is claimed that the 20-year-old man was burnt by a firecracker he was holding at the time but Angelides said that initial examinations indicate he was hurt by a Molotov cocktail. He was taken to Nicosia general where he was placed on a respirator in the intensive care unit.

The police spokesman added that a team of experts will look into the incident.

“We already have evidence which we are examining in connection with other information as our investigations are progressing rapidly,” Angelides said.

Police presence at the match was satisfactory according to Angelides, considering it was a friendly match. There were a total of 20 officers present at the match but after the trouble kicked off that number doubled to around 40 he said.

There are no friendly games in Cyprus according to 59-year-old Anorthosis supporter Christos Andreou.

“Police should have taken measures knowing what fans in Cyprus are like and they should have learnt from previous mistakes,” he said.

He explained that at the stadium in question there are special entrances for away fans but they were not used on Friday night.

“Hooligans will always exist and police need to take more severe measures to dissuade them” he added. Andreou said he believes it is not too late for the police to change their policies and come down hard on those caught causing trouble at football match. He cited several visits to stadiums in the UK as prime examples of how English police deal with troublemakers.

“I went to Stamford Bridge to watch Chelsea play APOEL in the Champions League a couple of years ago and we were told to keep to the pavement. One APOEL fan decided he was going to walk on the road at which point he was asked to get back on the pavement. He refused and within seconds a police car pulled up and officers told him he was either going to continue walking on the pavement or he was going to be put in the car and taken away. Unsurprisingly he got back on the pavement and didn’t get off,” he said.

One way he believes a solution could be found is if those found guilty of causing trouble are given community service and also banned from stadia.

[shmuel16]

Young man hospitalised after football violence
By Poly Pantelides

A 20-year-old man with second-degree burns was on a respirator at Nicosia hospital’s intensive care unit on Saturday after being injured on Friday night when hundreds of hooligans clashed during a friendly football game between host team Anorthosis and guests Apollon in Larnaca.

At about 7.45pm, about 15 minutes after the game started, between 150 and 200 Apollon fans approached the stadium in an organised group carrying Molotov cocktail bombs, firecrackers, flares, bats, and stones, police said.

Authorities said the hooligans provoked Anorthosis fans who responded in their hundreds, with some 400 Anorthosis fans leaving their stands and stepping outside the stadium. A limited police presence had to try to break off violent clashes, which went on for about an hour.

At least three parked cars were damaged when people hurled stones at them. A 20-year-old was caught up in the crossfire of a flare, sustaining second-degree burns. He was initially taken to Limassol general hospital but was moved to Nicosia because of his injuries, considered serious but not life threatening.

He is still in intensive care, on a respirator because of inhaling fumes, police said. A police spokesman said there was a cloud of fumes from the flares, Molotov cocktails, as well as the tear gas police used to break up the crowd. The circumstances under which the man was injured are not yet clear.

Police said their officers were assaulted by he hooligans, with eight of their members incurring slight injuries. Two police officers went to Larnaca general hospital where they were treated and discharged, police said. Six people were later arrested, state broadcaster CyCB said.

Football games – friendly or not – often end up with troubles in Cyprus with the bigger games between traditional rivals getting heavily policed.

Courts have handed out jail sentences to hooligans in what they described as an effort to demonstrate that fair play must be the norm, not the exception. A Larnaca district court judge who last year handed out two four months’ jail terms to two men, aged 26 and 27, said that “playgrounds should harbour entertainment, sportsmanship and healthy competition, as they did in the past.”

But despite isolated cases where hooligans do get prosecuted and punished, arrests do not always take place during troubles and hooliganism continues being an unresolved problem.

In early April, hooligans clashed in the context of two separate football games, one between Omonia and Apoel in Nicosia, and another between Anorthosis and AEK in Larnaca. Again, cars were damaged, while Molotov cocktails, firecrackers and flares were set off. The justice ministry said it was discussing new measures to prevent this kind of violence; however the new measures discussed were in the vein of current actions taken, i.e. punishing vandals and increasing police presence at games.

[shmuel16]

Justice ministry totally behind a new police force

HE JUSTICE ministry is fully supporting police efforts to build a new force which will be dignified and professional the justice minister said on Monday.

“We want you to stand proudly in front of the public, because through your correct behaviour you have managed to enforce the law as it should be enforced,” Ionas

Nicolaou told officers during a visit to the Rapid Response Unit’s headquarters.

The minister said the police had nothing to fear from investigative committees or other authorities such as the ombudswoman if they enforced the law properly.

Members of the unit have been training on the best course of action to deal with violence during football matches and Nicolaou said that constant training is required to keep the unit ready for any incident.

The minister stated that he expected the same levels of professionalism shown by the rapid response unit to be shown by the Cyprus Football Association (CFA) and stadium managers if the problem of violence at football matches is to be stamped out.

“We hope that legislation will be approved which will allow the chief of police to ban anyone from entering a stadium, whether they have been found guilty of committing a crime or not,” he said.

“As you are aware the greatest punishment for hooligans is to be banned from stadiums as they do not really care whether they go to jail.”

The minister also spoke of the problems which have been created by the police’s inability to hire new personnel after the bailout agreement.

“Four hundred and fifty positions need to be filled but due to the crisis we are having to look at replacing certain police officers who are involved in non-police tasks, especially those doing office jobs with other staff, from the wider public service,” he said.

Nicolaou said the procedure could strengthen the front line of officers as some would be able to leave their desk jobs.

http://cyprus-mail.com/2013/06/18/justi ... ice-force/

[kurupetos]

Shmuel you should follow Cyprus National Team. There are no hooligans there.