Police reject Greek request to host football cup final

Cyprus police on Wednesday rejected a request from the Greek football authority to host the cup final on the island, a few days after Greece’s media reported it was a done deal, while authorities in Nicosia said they had never received a request.

In an announcement, the police said that the issue was discussed at length as soon as the media made it public.

“For this purpose, data and information regarding the dangerousness of the football match in question were officially requested from the Greek police,” he said.

Based on the information the Cyprus police received, the request to hold the match on the island was rejected, to preserve public order.

On Monday there was confusion over whether the Greek football cup final would be held in Cyprus, which had been plagued by issues of sport stadium violence.

The Greek press reported it as a done deal that the game will be staged on the island – however both Justice Minister Anna Procopiou and police spokesman Christos Andreou said there has been no formal request.

“We have only heard about this through the press,” Andreou said on CyBC.

The past few weeks have been marred by arrests after rioting fans at a basketball match set fire to offices and a bus stop. The violence led to police drawing up a report for the justice minister apparently laying the brunt of the blame on three police officers.

The justice minister did not outright reject that Cyprus would agree to Greece’s game, responding to a suggestion that it was evident local authorities were struggling to get a grip on local games, let alone hosting a Greek football cup final.

“We cannot make statements over something that has not been formally requested of us. If a request is made, we can then evaluate it,” Procopiou told the state broadcaster.