The government on Wednesday approved a bill to itself the power to ban away fans from football matches “in exceptional cases”.
Speaking after the day’s cabinet meeting, Justice Minister Marios Hartsiotis said the bill will allow the executive branch to act “decisively”, and that to date, only the Cyprus Football Association (CFA) has had the right to ban away fans from football matches.
As well as empowering the government to ban away fans from football matches, the bill will also allow the police to breathalyse and drug test people at football matches, with football fans to be subject to the same alcohol limit as motorists.
Tests will be carried out on the gates of stadiums and inside the grounds, with those who test positive for drugs to be arrested. It is believed that those who blow over the alcohol limit will not be arrested but will not be arrested.
In addition, the bill will provide for the upgrade of CCTV systems at Cyprus’ sports venues, with all stadiums and indoor arenas with a capacity of over 500 people set to be required to install modern camera surveillance systems which will be compatible with “specific software”.
This software, Hartsiotis said, will be connected to the software related to the Cyprus Sports Organisation’s new generation fan card, with the aim of being able to easier identify people who commit crimes at sports events.
He added that the bill will be put forward for consultation, with that consultation set to last for four weeks, before being re-approved by cabinet and sent onwards to parliament “as soon as possible”.
As well as this bill, he said, plans are afoot to require football matchday stewards to be qualified professional security guards, with a consultation regarding the plans ongoing.
Football violence has been an ongoing theme in Cyprus, with the problem having become more profound in recent months.
The violence had caused tensions to rise between the CFA and the police over the summer after the former unilaterally decided last month to allow away fans to attend games again during the coming season.
Away fans had been banned from all competitive football matches from January last year until the beginning of this season in the summer after a firecracker launched from a stand hit a player in the head during a Coca Cola Cup tie between Nea Salamina and Apoel.
Hartsiotis had reportedly been in favour of the ban being extended into this season, but the CFA’s board of directors was unanimous in its decision.
The justice ministry also sent the CFA a letter, referring to the 2008 law on the prevention and suppression of violence at sports venues.
That law, among other things, stipulates that stadiums themselves take measures to prevent the public from entering the pitch, and to protect players and referees.
The violence has continued into this season, with fights spreading into towns and cities away from the stadiums.
In January, a policewoman was injured after a metal railing fell on her as police attempted to keep fans of Aek Larnaca and Omonia apart.
The incident occurred after Aek Larnaca were beaten 3-0 at home by Omonia, with it being reported that around 50 Aek fans attempted to “move threateningly” towards the Omonia fans after the match and tried to push back the metal railings put in place to prevent this from happening.
The policewoman suffered swelling on her face near her right eye and was discharged.
In October, a 26-year-old man suffered a facial fracture and other injuries to his body after being involved in violent episodes after a match between Apoel and Anorthosis, while the Limassol derby has been the scene of violence more often than not in recent years.
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