Investigations into the revelations of corruption and match-fixing in Cypriot football brought to light by lawyer and former member of the sports ethics committee, Haris Savvides, are set to commence, Phileleftheros reports.
On Tuesday afternoon, Savvides is expected to present evidence to the committee regarding 16 red notices sent from UEFA regarding match-fixing.
According to Savvides, 11 of the 16 notices involve Karmiotissa Pano Polemidia FC, while five concern Ermis Aradippou.
The members of the sports ethics committee are anticipated to approve the initiation of the investigation formally on Tuesday. It is likely that investigators will be appointed today and begin their work on Wednesday, May 31. The investigation is expected to be concluded in 45 days.
Background of the case
Savvides revealed to Members of Parliament that on September 23, 2020, while still serving as the administrator of the sports ethics committee, he received an e-mail from UEFA, summarising suspicious cases regarding match-fixing (red notices) in Cyprus over a period of 18 months (from January 1, 2019, to the summer of 2020)—the e-mail involved 16 matches with intense and suspicious betting activity.
However, when asked about the allegations the president of the Cyprus Football Association (CFA), Giorgos Koumas, stated that UEFA did not send a single red notice for the Cypriot championship during that period.
Furthermore, Savvides revealed that when the ethics committee decided to issue a press release on September 30, 2020, announcing investigations into two matches (out of the total 16), a high-ranking UEFA official called him and attempted to dissuade him from making the announcement.
This suggests the existence of a cover-up scheme involving both CFA and UEFA, which is connected to football broadcasting rights, Savvides added.
Suspicious matches
The former ethics committee members stated that Karmiotissa and Ermis should have been removed from the CFA according to the association’s regulations.
He described two suspected-fixed friendly matches that involved Karmiotissa. One, against Ael Limassol, ended 1-8, while the other against Apollon ended 4-0. In both matches, the Cypriot goalkeeper of Karmiotissa had a suspicious performance, according to video recordings of the games, he said.
UEFA, CFA remain silent
Last Thursday, Phileleftheros requested a statement from CFA regarding the allegations. The association referred Phileleftheros to the UEFA press office, however we have not received a response yet.
Phileleftheros also has repeatedly contacted Michalis Angelides, CFA’s security officer, who acts as the liaison between the Cyprus Football Association and UEFA. He did not respond.
The newspaper also tried to communicate with Anthoulis Mylonas, the CFA’s Executive Director, but he did not answer our call either.
Last Thursday, CFA released an announcement saying that the allegations are “politically motivated.”
Committee to investigate CFA president’s conflict of interest
The sports ethics committee will also investigate whether Koumas is incompatible to be president of the CFA due to a conflict of interest.
Specifically, Koumas reportedly owns several companies which manage football broadcasting rights.
According to documents, companies linked to Koumas had sold football broadcasting rights to CytaVision while he held an official position in the CFA.
Documents that Phileleftheros possesses indicate that the agreements between Koumas’ companies and semi-governmental CYTA amounted to millions of euros. The contracts also included rights related to Cypriot teams competing in Europe.
According to Phileleftheros, Koumas was involved with four companies that sold football broadcasting rights to CytaVision. Three of these companies are registered in the Seychelles, while the fourth is registered in the British Virgin Islands. The three companies, which are registered at the same address are: Goal-Line Limited, Telemedia Limited, and Midfield Limited.
The one registered in the British Virgin Islands is OMNIVISION Group Ltd.
Past probe ended abruptly as sports ethics committee members resigned
In 2020, Phileleftheros was summoned to testify before the sports ethics committee, while Andreas Papacharalambous was committee head. However, the newspaper was never informed about the progress of the investigation. Most members of the committee resigned at the beginning of 2021.
In early May 2023, during an interview on the ‘Legal Matters’ podcast, Papacharalambous accused former President Anastasiades of urging him to cover up investigations into match-fixing.
Furthermore, Harris Savvides confirmed in an interview with Phileleftheros on May 27, 2023, that the sports ethics committee had started an investigation into match-fixing in October 2020. However, the probe stopped abruptly after many committee members resigned. Savvides said that the investigation touched upon football broadcasting rights, adding that the business interests of Koumas should also be examined.
Moreover, a police source told Phileleftheros that authorities concluded two alleged conflict of interest investigations regarding Koumas. However, no criminal liability was found.
The CFA president contacted Phileleftheros twice to reiterate that police investigations proved his innocence.
Nevertheless, Cypriot law prohibits individuals from having financial interests in the sport they serve as officials.
Read more:
Anastasiades told me to cover up ‘suspicious football match’ – former sports watchdog chair
