As part of its efforts to eliminate violence at football matches, the Cypriot police announced on Monday their intention to intensify security screening of fans at the entrances to football stadiums, disband fan associations if necessary and call for matches to be stopped or canceled if safety is at risk.
The announcement of these measures comes just three days after the country’s Football Association banned visiting fans from attending all Premier League matches for the remainder of the season following a series of violent incidents.
Police spokesman Christos Andreou said the police will also be able to set fans’ arrival times in order to give soldiers plenty of time to conduct a stricter security check.
Andreu also pointed to a potential draft law that would require clubs to install CCTV cameras in all stadiums where top-flight matches are played, give police the power to conduct drug and alcohol tests before matches and ban entry to fans found to be under the influence of alcohol.
The draft law also provides for an increase in the duration of the ban imposed on fans convicted of crimes related to violence, to ten years.
For his part, Justice Minister Marios Hartsiotis said that the measures as a whole are not new, but the important point is to implement them more effectively with immediate effect.
Violence in football matches has sparked complaints from players’ unions about the safety of their members on and off the field.
Federation President Spyros Neovitides had warned of the possibility of players withdrawing if no measures were taken.
The cup match between league leaders APOEL Nicosia and Nea Salamina was stopped early in the second half after one of Nea Salamina’s players was injured by fireworks.
2024-01-23 02:58:46
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