Latest ‘high risk’ basketball match passes off without a hitch

Despite expressions of doubt in government measures for curbing stadium violence, the latest basketball play-off between Aek and Anorthosis, categorised as ‘high risk’, took place without incident, officials said on Monday.

The match took place on Sunday without so much as a single seat being moved, CyBC reported.

Entry checks were strictly adhered to and there were 100 police officers on duty with the police water cannon Aiantas on standby.

Police spokesman Christos Andreou told CyBC that a total of seven arrests had been made to date for the acts of violence at Tassos Papadopoulos stadium on March 26, as well as two arrests for incidents of possession of small quantities of illegal drugs.

One of the people arrested has been banned from stadium attendance of any games until his hearing scheduled for April 27, while police are still looking for a 20-year-old whose details have been made public.

Further developments are expected pending analysis of data and information from the buses used to transport fans, Andreou said.

Police are fully in agreement with the immediate formation of specialised anti-riot units as included in the recently announced government measures, Andreou added, however, this would require some time. An implementation study has been commissioned on the matter and securing equipment for these officers is also being discussed.