In what can only be described as a fiasco, the game between APOEL and AEK last night seemed to highlight that perhaps the authorities need to look at the standards of refereeing in the Cyprus Premiership.

Speaking to SuperSport FM last night, AEK Chairman Thomas Kyriakou commented that only did his team have both a goal and a penalty unfairly disallowed, but also that his players faced fourteen people on the field.

Questions were also asked as to why Georgios Papoutsos was chosen to referee a match of this level, with two such strong teams, when his last game’s work did not get a very good review and was not seen as particularly successful. The assistant referee, Frixos Petrou was also suddenly replaced the day before the match, by Andreas Xanthou.

AEK fans were highly disappointed after the game and tried to gather near the change rooms of the opposition, shouting and taunting, expressing their extreme dissatisfaction and disgust at the way the game was handled. Shouting things like “APOEL fixed the game” they even carried out a mock public hearing, playing judge and jury against their opposition but mostly against the match officials and the responsible authorities.

The police also made their presence felt, as the senior officer gave the order for APOEL’s change rooms to be cordoned off, and even supplying the team and their management with a police escort to their bus, making sure no one got anywhere near them.

As a result, the press weren’t able to gain access to either teams, both players and management, with no change room interviews or even the usual post-match statements by the captains and coaches.

Goal scorer Nickos Machlas, was awarded two hundred pounds as man of the match, although AEK Chairman Kyriakou wryly commented that the cheque should rather have gone to Papoutsos and Xanthou, as they as good as made it possible for APOEL to win. He went on to say that his team played so well against the current champions of Cyprus and should have gone on to win the game, if their goal and penalty both weren’t unfairly disallowed.

Takis Antoniou, spokesperson for APOEL, retorted by saying, “they had their chances to turn the game around after we scored. And they didn’t. It’s as simple as that.”

One would wonder what the point would be to even try if the match officials were clearly uninterested in a fair match. Perhaps the sports authorities should start looking for outside help to raise the game to a level of fairness and professionalism, especially since some of those outside people have moved here and have been denied any kind of club and official participation.

As a result, the press weren’t able to gain access to either teams, both players and management, with no change room interviews or even the usual post-match statements by the captains and coaches.

Goal scorer Nickos Machlas, was awarded two hundred pounds as man of the match, although AEK Chairman Kyriakou wryly commented that the cheque should rather have gone to Papoutsos and Xanthou, as they as good as made it possible for APOEL to win. He went on to say that his team played so well against the current champions of Cyprus and should have gone on to win the game, if their goal and penalty both weren’t unfairly disallowed.

Takis Antoniou, spokesperson for APOEL, retorted by saying, “they had their chances to turn the game around after we scored. And they didn’t. It’s as simple as that.”

One would wonder what the point would be to even try if the match officials were clearly uninterested in a fair match. Perhaps the sports authorities should start looking for outside help to raise the game to a level of fairness and professionalism, especially since some of those outside people have moved here and have been denied any kind of club and official participation.