Explosion rocks referee building in Cyprus

A bomb exploded outside the building of the Cyprus Referees Association in Nicosia on Thursday, with the incident taking hours after a late night meeting as well as amid allegations of match fixing on the island.

Local media said a pre-dawn explosion rocked the referee building in Lakatamia, Nicosia district, when a bomb went off outside the entrance Thursday early morning around 2am.

According to police, members of the association, who had a meeting in the building the previous night, notified law enforcement authorities when they got security alerts on their mobile phones around 2am.

Police Sergeant Eleni Constantinou told local media that the offices in the building had closed on Wednesday night around 9pm, following a meeting on the premises.

Constantinou said investigators who rushed to the scene determined that a makeshift bomb had gone off outside the entrance, causing damages only in the exterior and adding that evidence including security camera footage was being gathered and examined further.

Additional reports said a person wearing a helmet on a moped was recorded by security cameras.

The incident comes amid growing concern that allegations of match fixing have not been handled properly by authorities.

Soccer in Cyprus was back in the news in the last few weeks after the reemergence of corruption allegations against football officials, as well as accusations against politicians including former president Nicos Anastasiades, who has denied ever using the power of his office to halt investigations.