Marine flares fired at soccer games mean an attempted murder charge, Cyprus justice minister says

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — A spectator arrested for firing marine flares against rivals at a soccer match will face a minimum charge of attempted murder, Cyprus’ justice minister said on Friday.

Minister Marios Hartsiotis told reporters that police will be “harsh and unflinching” with fans using marine flares at soccer matches and he’s fully behind the new police leadership’s get-touch approach.

“Truly, some just don’t want to smarten up … I want to make this abundantly clear to everyone that the police will be harsh and unflinching against these kinds of phenomena,” Hartsiotis said.

He made the remarks after a marine flare struck a motorcycle police officer who was escorting the Apollon Limassol team bus to a stadium before Thursday night’s match against crosstown rival AEL.

Police said the officer sustained minor burns to his right hip and damage to his hearing.

The match, attended by about 5,000 fans and overseen by 182 police officers, went off without any trouble.

But police were later called to the AEL basketball team’s indoor arena where trophy stands were smashed, sports equipment and uniforms destroyed, and other arena installations damaged.

Police Chief Themistos Arnaoutis ordered an internal probe into whether law enforcement authorities failed to take any precautionary measures to prevent the damage since the arena was being guarded at the time.

Law enforcement has long pledged to crack down on soccer-related violence that continues to plague the sport in Cyprus.

Hartsiotis said his ministry was moving swiftly to introduce new, tougher legislation against soccer violence and to curb unruly behavior by fan clubs.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer