FOUR policemen were injured Sunday in the latest outbreak of football violence. Police are examining CCTV footage from the GSP stadium in Nicosia, but so far there have been no arrests.
Trouble erupted after the final whistle at a league fixture between APOEL and AEL, teams whose die-hard fans have a long-running vendetta.
Stadium authorities and police had devised security arrangements to keep the two sets of fans apart by allowing the home team supporters to leave the grounds first. With the final whistle, loudspeakers instructed the visiting AEL supporters to remain in their seats while the APOEL fans exited the stadium. The majority complied... 1 comment

CYPRUS rugby captain Tony Thoma has expressed his satisfaction with the performance of the Moufflons on Saturday, after they crushed Azerbaijan 59-0 at the Paphiakos Stadium.
“This is exactly the result we needed before our crucial game against Bosnia at the end of the month. The guys were brilliant,” he said.
Cyprus Rugby Federation president-elect Johnny Stavrinou who also officiated as touch judge, added to the plaudits, saying the team, “performed magnificently and it was very satisfying to see so many Cypriots turning out to support the national side.”
The match was watched by Irish Ambassador Thomas Brady, who has been a stalwart supporter of the national side, and who was guest of honour at the celebration dinner... Read on

MARCOS Baghdatis beat Mohamed Safwat Amin 6-1, 6-2, 6-3 in front of an emotional crowd inside the Spyros Kyprianou Athletic Centre in Limassol on Sunday to give Cyprus an unassailable 3-1 lead and progression to the second round of the Davis Cup Europe/Africa Group II .
“I am really proud playing in front of such a crowd,” Baghdatis said afterwards. “They were great and I express my thanks to all the people who came out here to support me.
“I think I played very well and I found the solutions required to secure the victory for our team. “It is one of the best moments playing Davis Cup for my country and I also express my gratitude to all the other members of the team,” he added at the post-match press conference... Read on

OMONIA remain on top of the Cyprus standings after a 2-0 away win over struggling Nea Salamina over the weekend.
The Nicosia powerhouse took the lead after only three minutes when Georgios Efrem’s free kick deceived Rafael Ponzo in the Salamina goal.
Omonia then sat back and waited for their chances on the counter attack, but the closest they came was in the 32nd minute when Maciej Zurawski’s shot from outside the area went wide.
Twelve minutes into the second half the Greens had their best chance to make it 2-0 but Demetris Christofi’s strike hit the post.
To their credit, Nea Salamina constantly tried to get back onto level terms, but they were missing the final pass and never fashioned a good goal-scoring opportunity... Read on

MARCOS Baghdatis last night helped Cyprus pull level with Egypt at one rubber apiece in their Group II Davis Cup encounter at the Spyros Kyprianou Athletic Centre in Limassol.
Baghdatis controlled his match with Sherif Sabry from the beginning, coming out on top 6-2 6-1 6-1.
“I played very solid today and I am very happy with myself. I feel very fit and confident,” the Cypriot said afterwards.
In the opening match of the tie yesterday afternoon, Raresh Cuzdriorean in the first match of his Davis Cup career, faced a tough challenge when he took to the court with the top class player of Egypt, Karim Maamoun
Cuzdriorean, despite losing in three sets, showed tremendous courage and determination in going down 6-3, 6-4, 7-5... Read on

OMONIA went to the top of the Cyprus League over the weekend with a 2-1 win over Aris Limassol at the GSP Stadium in Nicosia, after nearest rivals Anorthosis and APOEL played out a goalless draw in Larnaca earlier on Sunday.
“We won and took advantage of our opportunity to go top of the league as well as we possibly could after the result in Larnaca,” said Omonia coach Takis Lemonis after the game.
“Now we must stay focused and try to win the championship.
“We had several opportunities in the first half and managed to convert two of them, which was enough to claim the three points.
“However, we need to concentrate a lot more towards the ends of our matches and not concede goals in the dying minutes,” he added... 1 comment

APPROXIMATELY 150 individuals caused extensive damages to the Eleftheria ‘Tassos Papadopoulos’ Stadium in Nicosia on Friday night following the volleyball match between Omonia and Anorthosis.
Extensive damage was caused to all the windows and glass surfaces near the entrance to the stadium, to the furnishing and fixtures of a number of the offices, and to electrical fittings and appliances.
The match itself started 50 minutes late, due to episodes involving around 20 fans, which caused a delay to the arrival of the Anorthosis volleyball team.  When the bus carrying the players was seen to be approaching the stadium, the group of around 20 youths, who had their faces covered, approached it and started throwing stones... 2 comments

THIS week Cyprus has been hosting its third international Women's Cup, in which eight teams from around the globe will battle it out ahead of Wednesday's final. One team that is conspicuously absent from the line up, however, is the host nation.
This is not for want of a team: a Cyprus women's team has been around for years. The reason for its absence was put simply enough by the tour operator for the tournament, Urban Norstum – the team is just not yet ready to play the world's elite. "It would not be fair," he says.
But it raises the question of why in a country with such an enthusiastic football culture, where the Apoel/Omonia allegiance is fanatical, its women’s team is ranked 42nd in the continent and below Gabon globally... Read on

By Nemanja Bjedov
MARCOS Baghdatis beat Michael Berrer of Germany 7-6, 6-1 in the quarter-finals of the Barclays Tennis Championships in Dubai last night.
The Cypriot number one fired down eight aces in a tight opening set which he won after a tie-break.
The confidence then started to flow through Baghdatis as he twice broke Berrer’s serve to take a 5-0 lead, serving the match out after one hour and 38 minutes.
In the semi-finals, Baghdatis will take on Novak Djokovic after the second seed survived a barrage of 14 aces from Ivan Ljubicic, making a second set stand on the way to a 2-6, 6-4, 6-0 turnaround victory.
The Serb is now two victories away from finally defending a title in his career after winning in Dubai last year... Read on

Cypriot tennis star Marcos Baghdatis defeated India's Somdev Devvarman (6-3, 3-6, 6-1) on Wednesday (February 24th) and will head to the next round of the Dubai Tennis Championships. Croatia's Marin Cilic beat Austria's Stefan Koubek (6-2, 7-6), and also advances. The tournament runs through Saturday. Also Wednesday, Serbia's Novak Djokovic beat fellow Serb Viktor Troicki 3-6 6-4 6-2... Read on