A 26-year-old man suffered a facial fracture and other injuries to his body after being involved in violent episodes while leaving a football match on Monday night.
The incident occurred at Nicosia’s GSP stadium after the match between Apoel and Anorthosis, and the man was taken to the Nicosia general hospital for treatment.
The police had also said that before the start of the match, Anorthosis fans housed in the northern end of the ground had attempted to enter the east stand, which housed Apoel fans, by breaking railings.
The police said they “prevented more tensions” with an “immediate intervention” when the railings were broken, and that their investigation into the incident after the match is ongoing.
Monday night’s incident is the latest in a running series of violent incidents at football matches in Cyprus, with ten people having been arrested after violent episodes during an abandoned Limassol derby between Ael and Apollon in September.
After that incident, Justice Minister Marios Hartsiotis had called on football clubs to isolate what he referred to as “100, 500 or even 1,000 mindless thugs”.
He also criticised the Cyprus Football Association (CFA) for not “taking further action” in advance of the fixture, adding that the government had been urging them to take measures but had not seen sufficient determination to this end.
Earlier in the year, away fans had been banned from football stadiums following previous violent scenes but were allowed back at the start of this season last month.
Hartsiotis had reportedly been in favour of the ban being extended into the new season, but the CFA’s board of directors was unanimous in its decision.
Away fans had been banned from all competitive football matches in January after a firecracker launched from a stand hit a player in the head during a Coca Cola Cup match between Nea Salamina and Apoel, with the player reportedly suffering damaged hearing as a result.
Just days later in January, another Limassol derby was cancelled due to violence inside and outside the Alphamega Stadium.
