Makarios statue defaced in Paphos
Police on Sunday were trying to track who may have written ‘Koumas, die’ on a Makarios statue in Paphos.
George Koumas is the head of the Cyprus Football Association, where stadium violence has become a sore point and hooligans arrested.
Paphos deputy operations chief Michalis Nikolaou said a patrol vehicle noticed Makarios’ statue defaced with spray paint.
The wording was partially removed, while a municipality team was expected to reach the scene on Sunday afternoon to clean up the graffiti with a water pressure.
Koumas has recently come under fire after the top tier Nea Salamina against APOEL Nicosia game was interrupted after a flare landed close to where home substitute players were warming up.
Footage showed Nea Salamina player George Papageorgiou rolling on the ground, clutching his head. Hospital tests showed impaired hearing in his left ear, media reports said.
He also recently stated that he would not accept Turkish Cypriots’ attempts to unilaterally join the international football community.