Apollon elects not to appeal decision over behind-closed-doors match

Apollon on Friday said they will not appeal the ruling that they must play their home fixture against Aris Limassol behind closed doors on Sunday following an outbreak of fan violence at the Limassol derby match with Ael on November 30.

They also said they will not appeal the decision to ban their fans from travelling to their away fixture with Freedom24 Krasava ENY on December 21.

The ban on Apollon fans from the club’s next two games came after fans had let off flares and thrown firecrackers onto the pitch during last month’s Limassol derby, while clashes between the rival clubs’ fans spilled onto the streets of the island’s second city.

Ael fans were not blameless in the affair, with a group of the club’s fans throwing Molotov cocktails at the Apollon club building in the city, sparking a fight with those inside.

Football fan violence has become widespread in Cyprus in recent years, prompting the government to pen a new bill which it hopes will address the issue earlier this year, with justice minister of the day Marios Hartsiotis saying that if it is passed, it will “give the key to safer stadiums to the state”.

Not everyone was satisfied, however, the stadium licencing authority telling a House legal committee that an article which stipulates that all stadiums and indoor arenas with a capacity of over 500 people will be required to install modern camera surveillance systems within a year of the bill’s passing into law “will cause many problems”.

At present, such CCTV systems are only required at venues with capacities of 2,000 spectators or more.

The Cyprus bar association expressed fears regarding the provision in the bill which would allow the police to breathalyse and drug test people at and near football matches.

Concerns were raised over the wording of the bill, which at present states that testing can be carried out “in an area adjacent to the stadium or on the way to the stadium”.

Meanwhile, GSP athletics club general manager Phivos Constantinides has argued that “the infrastructure of most stadiums is lagging behind and cannot accept technological upgrades or support the conduct of inspections”.

“I believe that the stadiums cannot respond, the resources are not there. If the state does not decide to undertake the task of improving the stadiums, the law will not be able to be implemented,” he said.