Five football clubs on Wednesday offered to pay a third of the tax debt they owe to the government immediately.

The proposal was made by Ael, Apoel, Apollon, Anorthosis and Ethnikos Achna during a meeting between the five clubs’ chairmen, the Cyprus Football Association (CFA) chairman Giorgos Koumas and tax commissioner Sotiris Markides.

After the meeting, Apoel chairman Prodromos Petrides said the parties had a “fairly constructive and good discussion”, and that following on from the first immediate payment, more money would be returned to the state’s coffers in the second quarter of the year.

These payments, he said, would correspond with the payments the clubs are required to make as part of an agreement signed by them and Finance Minister Makis Keravnos in 2023, which foresees that all debts will be paid by June 2037.

He added the tax inspector would pass the proposal on to cabinet, and that “we hope this proposal will be agreed upon”.

Asked about a government plan to increase taxes on takings by betting shops and then increase the amount paid to the CFA from 1.5 per cent to three per cent, he said this is an “independent issue”.

However, he did note that the proceeds from that tax is “not primarily received by football clubs” as the ethics commission deducts a “very significant proportion”, leaving only a “small amount” to be distributed between the clubs.

On the matter of the overall tax debt owed by football clubs since 2023, he said there is “no way” the clubs could immediately repay the amount accrued since then.

“We made a specific proposal for the payment of a specific amount, which is at a reasonable level, and I believe the overall attitude was positive,” he said.

Apoel’s archrivals Omonia were incensed by the staging of Wednesday’s meeting, with club chairman Marios Argyrides visiting the finance ministry and telling journalists that he was not invited.

“I will suffice to say that we were not invited. We came here to be informed. I will keep it to this point. We entered the meeting, we spoke. I will inform our board of directors and if necessary, Omonia will make an announcement,” he said.

He then added that he had been present in the meeting room before the meeting began, but had left, and that his club “fully respects the tax commissioner”, who, he said, is “doing his job”.

The meeting comes after Apoel had been taken to court over €2.3 million the club owes in social insurance contributions, redundancy pay and Gesy contributions. The hearing had been postponed with a view to holding Wednesday’s meeting, with the court set to reconvene in March.

The government had initially not named Apoel as the club in the dock, but Labour Minister Yiannis Panayiotou decided to disclose which of the indebted clubs would be in court.

Afterwards, he claimed he had been on the receiving end of threats issued by people linked to the club, while President Nikos Christodoulides said it was a “mistake” for him to name the club.

Meanwhile, Apoel themselves said there is “not even the slightest comparison to be made” between the contributions made by the football club and its supporters to the country, and “your own miniscule contribution.

The club also said Panayiotou suffered from “delusions”, “confusion”, and an “incapacity to comprehend” the situation.