Two youths arrested over soccer incident

Two young men were arrested on Wednesday in Limassol after police attempted to break up a futsal game, with the suspects being accused of physically and verbally assaulting the officers.

According to Limassol police, officers visited a futsal pitch in Ayios Athanasios where around 20 young males had gathered Wedensday afternoon around 5:15pm.

About 15 of the youths, all described as local residents, were playing soccer on the futsal pitch in violation of restriction measures currently in place by the government to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 disease.

Police said when officers arrived at the scene to carry out inspections some of the young males ran away, while about 10 youths remained in the area and started swearing at the cops.

In one instance, a young man allegedly attacked a female officer, striking her and grabbing her mobile phone according to police, while five others also reportedly attacked two male officers before running away.

A police statement on Thursday morning said two young males aged 21 and 19 were detained on arrest warrants following a preliminary investigation.

Three officers were treated for injuries in the Emergency Room while further medical tests were pending according to the report.

It was not clear whether police would attempt to identify more suspects in the case. Charges include aggravated assault, theft, and swearing in public.