Three men who were allegedly involved in a disturbance during a football match between Apollon and AEL at the Alpha Mega Stadium were identified using the stadium’s surveillance footage, police said.
The individuals, aged 39, 28, and 21, were detained on Saturday afternoon and subsequently appeared in court on Sunday. They have been remanded in custody for four days pending further investigation.
The trio faces a series of nine charges, including conspiracy to commit both felony and misdemeanour, inciting violence, obstructing the conduct of a sporting event, the use and hurling of dangerous objects, concealing their identities, causing the cancellation of the match, and the illegal possession and transportation of explosive materials.
Investigations revealed that upon questioning by Limassol Police, the suspects chose to exercise their right to remain silent.
It is reported that one of the individuals, the 28-year-old, was seen making provocative gestures towards the Apollon supporters’ section after ascending to the AEL stands and was later involved in igniting flares amongst the crowd of AEL fans.
Further investigations confirmed that the 28-year-old had accessed the stadium using a fan card to scan his ticket, with his identity later corroborated through his social media presence.
Another suspect, the 39-year-old, was captured on CCTV donning a yellow AEL hoodie, concealing his face before igniting a flare and launching it into the east stand occupied by Apollon supporters, with his movements recorded by the stadium’s cameras.
The fan cards of all three three suspects have been revoked.
In another development, a 30-year-old man was arrested the day following the match and faced written charges for making indecent gestures.
He admitted to the offence and is set to face trial before the Limassol Court.
Read more:
