Man arrested for launching firecracker at footballer

Police on Thursday announced the arrest of a 22-year-old man in connection with the throwing of a firecracker at a footballer during a match on Tuesday. He was later remanded for two days.

They confirmed that the arrest had taken place in regard to the Coca Cola Cup match between Nea Salamina and Apoel, which was abandoned after a firecracker launched from the stand hit Nea Salamina player Giorgos Papageorgiou.

It is expected that the man will be taken to the Larnaca district court, the town in which the match took place, on Thursday.

Tuesday’s game marked the latest episode of football-related violence in Cyprus, with the aftermath of the game between Omonia 29th May and Anorthosis also seeing a stone thrown through the rear window of a police car.

Asked to address public criticism about the ineffectiveness of preventive checks carried out by police at stadium entrances, Police spokesman Christos Andreou that the banned items were challenging to control.

“It is impossible that such a large number of items are entering through the main gates. It is also very difficult to completely curb the smuggling-in of such very small items and impossible to check [all the] places where they can be hidden,” he said.

He added that in December, police had uncovered a hidden stash of banned items behind a metal grill during stadium repairs.

Police are investigating both incidents.