Justice Minister Marios Hartsiotis on Wednesday afternoon will meet a delegation of the Pancyprian Association of Football Players (PASP), led by its executive president Spyros Neophytides and by the head of the board of directors Vangelis Kyriakou.
During the meeting, PASP is expected to raise the issue of the Saint Denis Convention, an EU agreement on safety and security at sports events, adopted by the Council of Europe.
According to PASP, the convention has not yet been ratified by the Cypriot government. The agreement, consisting of 75 articles, includes clear provisions for combating violence in stadiums.
It also includes specifications for closed-circuit television (CCTV) installed in stadiums, the duties for stewards and security guards, and the right of a stadium manager to deny entry to fans if they are under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
PASP also intends to discuss the memorandum of cooperation signed last summer with former Justice Minister Anna Procopiou, which provided for coordinated measures against violence.
Based on the memorandum, PASP had committed to intensify its anti-violence campaign through ad-hoc programmes drawn up by the association itself.
In the past ten years, PASP had in fact been organising events in schools with the active participation of football players engaging with students, aimed at sending messages against negative phenomena in football, such as violence and racism, among others.
During the meeting on Wednesday, PASP also intends to make specific recommendations to the minister for the implementation of high-resolution cameras in stadiums.
As a matter of fact, PASP has repeatedly voiced the need to improve the closed-circuit television (CCTV) systems used in Cyprus for years.
Following a string of incidents involving fans in stadiums in recent weeks, Hartsiotis recently said that the government will legislate to give itself the power to order football matches be played behind closed doors.
He also added that the Cyprus Football Association (CFA) is not doing enough to immediately and effectively deal with the problem.
At the moment, football matches in Cyprus are being played without the presence of away fans on the stands. There were rumours that, after the incidents on the stands at Alphamega Stadium during the derby between Ael and Apollon, the measure would be extended to all fans, but that has not yet happened.
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