Cyprus spent nearly €7.5 million on policing football matches between 2019 and 2023, with 81 games classified as high-risk, Justice and Public Order Minister Marios Hartsiotis revealed.
The highest expenditure occurred in 2023, when €2.7 million was spent policing 18 matches deemed high-risk. The state bears the full cost of sports event security rather than the clubs that generate revenue from the games.
The figures were disclosed in response to a parliamentary question from Famagusta MP Nikos Georgiou, who had asked about measures to combat stadium violence through law enforcement and prosecution of offenders.
Annual spending breakdown
Security costs rose significantly over the five-year period. In 2019, Cyprus spent €1.24 million on football match policing, followed by €949,000 in 2020 and €802,000 in 2021. Costs then jumped to €1.7 million in 2022 before reaching the peak of €2.7 million in 2023.
The total of €7.4 million covered security for all football matches during the period, including the 81 classified as high-risk.
230 arrests since 2017
Police made 230 arrests for stadium violence between 2017 and 2024, according to ministry data.
The worst year for football violence was 2022-23, when 58 people were arrested in connection with 34 violent incidents. Of these cases, 29 were filed in court, whilst five remain under investigation. Courts issued 51 stadium banning orders, and 32 matches were classified as high-risk.
The 2023-24 season saw another 58 arrests relating to 25 incidents, with 20 cases filed in court and five under investigation. Forty fans received court-imposed stadium bans, whilst 18 matches were deemed high-risk.
COVID-19 impact
The coronavirus pandemic significantly reduced incidents. During 2020-21, no arrests were made, though police investigated two serious violence cases that went to court. The 2019-20 season, when the pandemic began, saw only 11 arrests and two high-risk matches.
Fan card implementation began on 1 January 2018, whilst COVID-19 restrictions preventing fan attendance lasted from 10 March 2020 until the end of the 2021 season.
Enforcement gaps
Hartsiotis noted that stadium security officials, clubs and federations have legal authority to impose stadium entry bans under Article 73C of the legislation.
“Unfortunately, apart from one club, none of the above imposed such bans despite having the authority. It should be noted that the Chief of Police does not have such authority,” the minister concluded.