APOEL must replay title decider against ael

Ael and APOEL will replay their title-decider for the first division championship after the Cyprus Football Association ruled Thursday  night that the game must be replayed at a neutral venue.
The crunch match will be replayed behind closed doors.
The 5-2 majority decision came after a marathon session where both sides stated their case - the game at Limassol's Tsirio was stopped after 52 minutes with the game at 0-0. A draw would have seen AEL crowned champions.

APOEL was looking for the three points (ie a 3-0 win) which would see them crowned champions for a record 23rd time as they have a superior head-to-head record to that of AEL.
But the CFA decided the game must be replayed from the beginning and not the moment the match was stopped as AEL has requested.

However, the Cyprus national team - which also comprises of AEL captain Marios Nicolaou, APOEL captain Constantinos Charalambides as well as fellow APOEL players Marios Antoniades, Pieros Sotiriou and Nektarios Alexandrou - last night departed for Japan where they will face the hosts in a friendly in Saitama on Tuesday.

APOEL's Brazilian defender Kaka suffered head injuries and trauma to his ear drum when the powerful boom from the firecracker exploded close to the bench of the team during the big match against AEL in Limassol.

The injury led to referee Demetris Masias calling off the game after a lengthy stoppage when both teams were ushered off the pitch.
In the aftermath of the attack on Kaka, AEL claimed that it was impossible to know for sure if the culprit responsible for the attack was indeed one of their own fans despite the firecracker being thrown from the stands occupied by the fans of the Limassol club.

APOEL chairman Prodromos Petrides had been calling for the three points to be awarded to his side, despite the game being at 0-0 - a score that would have seen AEL crowned champions.
His AEL counterpart, Andreas Sofocleous, has been arguing that the game needs to be replayed from the moment the game was stopped.

AEL also questioned the seriousness of Kaka's injuries at Limassol General Hospital.
A Limassol district court yesterday remanded a 25-year-old man believed to be the spectator that injured a footballer with a firecracker during the high-profile football match.

Late on Wednesday night, police officers moved in and arrested the suspect - which television cameras and photographs showed had been disguised in a skeleton mask - following a tip-off. The suspect has denied any wrongdoing.

ael must replay title decider against APOEL / incyprus.philenews.com