A football referee claims he was savagely beaten by a Karmiotissa FC mob that punched and kicked him on the ground whilst police officers stood watching after Saturday’s match—but the club insists the attack never happened and their pitch doesn’t even have the tunnel where he says it occurred.
Konstantinos Theodorou’s match report describes “repeated punches and kicks to my entire body, even when I was down on the ground” by “an enraged mob” in what he calls “physical violence with barbarity”. He names a Karmiotissa stretcher-bearer sent off minutes earlier as one attacker and accuses police of remaining “inactive and uninvolved, without making any attempt to protect me”.
Karmiotissa flatly denies it. “The referee fell to the ground, but he got up and said ‘yes I feel fine’,” the club stated yesterday. “And one clarification. Our pitch does not have a tunnel!”
Cyprus Police are investigating despite Theodorou’s refusal to file a formal complaint. He wants the Cyprus Football Association to handle the matter, not the criminal justice system.
“The enraged mob” and police who did nothing
In his match report obtained by Phileleftheros, Theodorou describes being attacked “in the tunnel area” after the 1-2 second division loss to APEA Akrotiri ended.
“A group of people from Karmiotissa Polemidion approached me—the overwhelming majority unauthorised people not registered on the match sheet. They approached me initially with threatening intentions, insulting me, abusing me and subsequently beat me, exercising physical violence against me with barbarity.”
He continues: “I received a savage beating with repeated punches and kicks to my entire body, even when I was down on the ground, endangering my physical integrity, offending and humiliating my human dignity.”
Then comes his most damning allegation: “Noteworthy was that throughout the aforementioned incident, Cyprus Police members were present, who unfortunately remained inactive and uninvolved, without making any attempt to protect me and shield me from the enraged mob.”
Theodorou identifies one attacker as a Karmiotissa stretcher-bearer expelled in the 88th minute for improper conduct on the bench. “Seconds before I was on the ground, I managed to recognise a person who punched me in the ribs and near the chest.”
He names four witnesses: assistant referees Andreas Viktoros and Angeliki Athanasopoulos, match observer Kyriakos Christoudias, and match doctor Georgios Nikolaou.
Hospital visit: X-rays and CT scans
Theodorou states that “with the intervention of calmer people, I managed in a state of crisis panic and fear to eventually enter the refereeing team’s changing rooms and be given first aid”.
That evening he visited Limassol General Hospital’s Accidents and Emergency Department for chest X-rays and CT scans of his brain, neck, chest and abdomen. He attached the medical certificates to his match report.
Club: “He said ‘I feel fine’ repeatedly”
Karmiotissa’s official statement presents a sharply different version.
“Indeed there was a clash at the end of the match, the referee fell to the ground, but he got up and the stadium doctor examined him without finding anything serious. Mr Giannis Violaris even hugged him, asked if he was okay and he said ‘yes I feel fine’. He even asked if he wanted to go to hospital, but he answered ‘I feel fine’, as diagnosed by Mr Georgios Nikolaou, stadium doctor.”
The club said they tried contacting Theodorou afterwards to inform him the assistants left their flags at the pitch, but he didn’t answer. “Mr Giannis Violaris is calling him even now to give him the assistants’ flags.”
Karmiotissa expressed surprise at the match report: “We obviously consider this to be outside reality. And one clarification. Our pitch does not have a tunnel!”
The tunnel claim strikes at the heart of Theodorou’s account, which specifies the attack occurred “in the tunnel area” as he headed to the changing rooms.
Police: “Everything will be investigated”
Police communication subdirectorate officer Christodoulos Konsolos confirmed yesterday that authorities are investigating what happened after the match ended, despite no formal complaint.
“The referee is not willing to make a complaint,” Konsolos said. “However, despite the fact there is no complainant for the incident, Police will investigate everything that was noted after the match ended.”
Asked specifically whether police will investigate Theodorou’s claims that officers remained inactive when he was attacked, Konsolos was unequivocal: “Everything will be investigated.”
According to information obtained by Phileleftheros, Theodorou wishes the match report to be handled by the Cyprus Football Association and does not want the incident elevated to a criminal matter.
The preliminary message recorded in the Police system noted insults directed at the referee, who was reportedly led to the changing rooms by police members. Two police officers were on duty at the match.
Phileleftheros attempted to contact Cyprus Referees Association president Christos Spanos for comment, but he did not answer repeated calls despite written notification.