May 19 – Cypriot football, which has often been in the news for positive reasons in recent months as officials try to unify the sport on both sides of the island, has been rocked by an unwanted end-of-season incident that saw one of its many foreign players hit by an object thrown from the crowd.
Last weekend’s winner-takes-all Cypriot league decider between AEL Limassol and Apoel Nicosia was abandoned after the missile struck APOEL’s Brazilian defender Kaka in the head.
Leading up to the game, AEL Limassol led their rivals by three points, but a win for APOEL would have been enough to pip the league leaders.
Rivalry between the two clubs is fierce and extra police had been called up ahead of the game at Limassol’s Tsirio stadium in the biggest ever security operation for a club match.
However, with the score goalless, disaster struck after 51 minutes when a “pistol-fired missile” went straight for the APOEL substitutes’ bench and hit Kaka.
The 33-year-old was immediately treated by paramedics before being rushed to hospital where he needed several stitches. It is not known whether or where the game will be replayed, with a ruling expected in 10 days.