Authorities in Limassol have announced much stronger security for Sunday's important football match between local rivals AEL and Apollon. This decision comes after a serious violent incident on Thursday night. The violence caused damage to property and led to several arrests. This event has cast a shadow over the city's football culture.
The trouble started near the Apollon club’s headquarters. Police say a group of AEL fans attacked the building. They used fireworks and homemade firebombs. The fans also set a rubbish bin on fire and damaged parked cars before running away when the police arrived. This attack shows that the rivalry between the two clubs remains very strong and dangerous.
Because of the violence, police searched a fans' clubhouse on Friday. They found a collection of possible weapons. These included wooden poles; one of them had a metal skewer attached to it, which shows the fans were prepared for violence. On Saturday, police arrested two men, aged 19 and 21, for the attack.
To try and calm the situation before Sunday's game, the deputy police chief held an emergency meeting with both clubs. Afterwards, they all asked fans to be less aggressive and to ensure last week's events are not repeated.
However, the police and the Cyprus Football Association (CFA) now disagree about security. The CFA has criticized the police. The CFA says the police changed their original plan and now want the match to have fewer fans or even no fans at all. This shows a conflict between keeping people safe and the business side of football.
The upcoming match is a big test for Limassol. The extra security will try to stop more violence and see if the clubs and police can work together well. Everyone will be watching to see if this can help solve the problem of football violence in Cyprus.