Police in Larnaca arrested three men for “acting suspiciously” before the start of Wednesday night’s football match between Anorthosis and Apollon.
The trio, two of whom are 28 years old and one is 25, remain in custody.
Police said that shortly before kick-off, a person in one of the stands was seen on CCTV “behaving suspiciously”.
At the same time, they said, three other people outside the stadium were also “behaving suspiciously” on CCTV.
Upon further inspection, it was discovered that one of the three outside the stadium had thrown a rope into the stadium, to be caught by the man waiting inside.
Police arrested all three men waiting outside and discovered bags containing beer and vodka nearby.
All three are expected to appear in court on Thursday.
Violence at football has been a hot topic of late, with Apoel having been thrown out of the Coca-Cola Cup earlier this month due to fan violence.
The Nicosia-based club were drawing 0-0 away at Nea Salamina on January 16 when a firecracker launched from the away fans’ section hit Nea Salamina player Giorgos Papageorgiou.
Another Coca-Cup match, held between Limassol rivals Apollon and Ael, was abandoned before it could even start as sets of fans threw fireworks and other objects at each other and invaded the pitch.
In response to the continuing violence, the Cyprus Football Association (CFA) moved to ban away fans from all professional matches until the end of the season.
However, football players have called for more stringent and long-lasting measures, with players’ association Pasp executive president Spyros Neofytides calling for Cyprus to ratify the Saint-Denis convention to enhance the safety of fans and players at matches on the island.
He met with Justice Minister Marios Hartsiotis to make the suggestion, and also called for Cyprus to hold a pan-European meeting on the subject of the Saint-Denis convention, with the aim of informing the relevant stakeholders about the convention and what it stipulates.
The Saint-Denis convention, written by the Council of Europe, sets out a list of requirements for football grounds, football associations, and local authorities to ensure the safety of fans in attendance. It was opened for signature in 2016, before the Euro 2016 quarter final bfooetween France and Iceland.
Cyprus signed the convention in 2017, but has not yet ratified it, nor implemented the legislation to fulfil its requirements.
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