Newsroom
A 10-year-old girl who went to watch Sunday’s APOEL-AEL match with her father ended the night in hospital after being struck in the head by a battery thrown from the stands.
According to police, the battery was thrown from the section occupied by AEL supporters toward the APOEL stand at the GSP Stadium in Nicosia.
The child was taken to Nicosia General Hospital, where she received first aid before being discharged. Police arrested a person after obtaining testimony allegedly connecting the suspect to the incident.
But the violence was not limited to what happened inside the stadium.
Before kickoff, a group of APOEL supporters marching toward the GSP allegedly threw objects at AEL fans gathered in the northern parking area. Officers intervened and restored order, police said.
A member of the riot police was also injured after being attacked by a group of supporters following the game. The officer received hospital treatment and was later discharged.
The latest incidents again leave Cyprus football facing a problem far bigger than the result on the scoreboard.
For many parents, taking a child to watch their favorite team should be a simple family outing, perhaps even the beginning of a lifelong love for the club. Instead, incidents involving flares, stones, and objects thrown between stands have made attending some matches feel like a calculated risk.
This time, the person caught in the middle was a 10-year-old girl standing beside her father.
Neither she nor the injured officer suffered serious injuries. Yet the outcome could easily have been much worse, particularly when a hard object is thrown blindly into a crowded stand.
Police are continuing their investigation. The incident is also likely to raise questions over stadium security, the responsibility of football clubs and whether existing penalties are doing enough to keep violent supporters away from matches.
