January 14 – Police in Cyprus have reportedly detained the head of the country’s referees association Michalis Argyrou (pictured) over allegations that he tried to influence the outcome of a first-division match two years ago.
The alleged offense occurred during the game between Aris Limassol and Paralimni in April 2012.
In a separate case, a former member of the Cyprus Football Association refereeing committee was recently held for four days on suspicion that he tried to influence the outcome of lower-league matches as well as under-21 games four years ago.
The arrests happened after leading official Marios Panayi publicly came forward with match-rigging allegations that prompted Cyprus FA chief Costakis Koutsokoumnis to admit that the top division in his country was plagued by the problem.
According to newspaper Cypriot reports that could not be verified, Panayi’s allegations claimed the Cyprus FA’s deputy chairman Yiorgos Koumas was at the heart of the problem, heaping negative publicity on a federation that has been widely praised for its efforts at trying to bring about footballing re-unification with the Turkish-controlled north of the divided island.
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