Police vehicles destroyed after football fans clash

Five police vehicles were damaged, and officers came under sustained attack during clashes with fans outside the GSP Stadium in Nicosia on Sunday night, following Apoel’s 2–1 defeat to Aek Larnaca.

Police said the incidents began after the final whistle when around 150 individuals moved towards the west stand, where club administration offices are located.

Officers attempted to repel the crowd using chemical agents, while groups of fans responded by throwing stones at police.

The confrontation resulted in extensive damage to five police vehicles.

The Cyprus Police Association (SAK) expressed “dismay and strong indignation” over what it described as unprecedented events.

“Yesterday’s events exceeded all limits of fan violence and turned into purely criminal acts,” the association said.

It added that the violence went far beyond clashes with officers.

“The fury of the rioters was not limited to attacks against our members, but expanded to an unprecedented destruction of state property, with the complete destruction of patrol cars constituting a direct attack on the state and the taxpayer,” the statement said.

It also warned that the theft of equipment from official vehicles was “an extremely dangerous act”, stressing that “the possession and use of police equipment by citizens constitutes a very serious felony”.

The association said officers could not be left exposed to organised violence.

“It is not possible for our members to be left at the mercy of organised strike groups that operate in urban guerrilla terms,” it insisted.

Calling for swift action, SAK urged the immediate use of all available means, including CCTV footage and witness testimonies, to identify those responsible and arrest anyone in possession of stolen police equipment.

“We will not remain a spectator to the discrediting of the police as an institution,” it said, adding that incidents last night proved “the final stage of the anarchy that some have allowed to be cultivated in the stadiums”.

The violence followed growing anger among Apoel supporters after the defeat by Aek.

Tensions prompted police intervention, including the deployment of special units and the Aiantas water cannon to prevent further escalation.

Following the match, a group of fans remained outside the west stand, directing chants and verbal attacks at club president Prodromos Petrides and the board, blaming them for the team’s poor run of results.