The labour minister, Yiannis Panayiotou’s public row with Apoel football club took a new twist on Wednesday when he told Alpha TV that he and his family had been on the receiving end of threats by people linked to the club.
He downplayed concerns about the threats, saying his priority remained the performance of his duties and protecting the public interest.
It was a difficult couple of days for Panayiotou, who was also publicly censured by President Nicos Christodoulides on Tuesday night, naming Apoel, as the club that was to appear in court on Wednesday for non-payment of debts to the Social Insurance Fund amounting to €2.3m.
Christodoulides had said it was “a mistake” for his minister to name the club. Panayiotou also admitted he had made a mistake on Alpha TV.
He admitted that specifically naming Apoel “could have been avoided” but said he was “only speaking on what was already public knowledge”, widely reported by journalists in the island’s media.
Apoel, which had issued a statement on Tuesday slamming Panayiotou, posted a letter addressed to him on its website on Wednesday.
It said: “It seems we need to remind you [Panayiotou] of the obvious. Apoel is the biggest football and sporting club in Cyprus. The contribution of its members […] athletes, and fans to this country is massive. There’s not even the slightest comparison to be made with your own miniscule contribution to this country.”
The letter went on to lambast the minister, claiming he suffered from “delusions”, “confusion”, and an “incapacity to comprehend” the situation.
The club had acknowledged its debts so there was no need for the minister to “bang on” about them on television shows, it continued.
The directors concluded by saying that the club was taking all actions necessary to resolve the situation and pay back what it owed the state, and that it recognised “the seriousness of the situation vis-a-vis [its] employees’ rights.”
Meanwhile, finance minister Makis Keravnos also joined the row saying the government expected football clubs to “be reasonable” and settle their debts to the state.
The terms of repayment of debts by “clubs” cannot be altered, said Keravnos on Wednesday, referring to the failure of several clubs to satisfy the conditions for the new debt repayment scheme offered by the government.
“The state has made many attempts, through planning and regulation, to ease the process,” Kervanos told reporters at the Presidential Palace after a cabinet meeting.
“We take the same approach towards all [bodies] owing money to the state,” he said, adding that he hoped for a change of attitude by the football clubs, “even if late in the day”.
Anyone failing to pay up their debts would be led to the courts he said.
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