APOEL’s press officer, Nektarios Petevinos, spoke to “SPOR FM 95.0” about everything related to the team.
The main topic of discussion was the disagreement, via official statements, with AEL regarding the Kafou case and the Limassol-based club’s allegation of match-fixing. He then commented on the issue of refereeing following the Association’s announcement.
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Furthermore, regarding the schedule during the break, he noted that there is a break from today until Sunday (September 27).
Here are his statements in detail
Regarding the announcements between APOEL and AEL: “First of all, we addressed this issue at length yesterday through two public statements. For the past two weeks, AEL has been very vocal, through announcements and statements, regarding the incident which AEL claims occurred based on its information, which must be thoroughly investigated, and punishments and sanctions must be imposed—and I believe this is clearly evident from the arbitration committee’s findings as well. It is clear that we had an incident in the APOEL–AEL match, where there was a serious unsportsmanlike act by the player, and it took 7–8 minutes for the VAR to understand what had happened. So you can see that this is the question raised yesterday by APOEL. APOEL had no intention of getting involved or of entering into a confrontation with AEL. We did not do so until AEL issued a 700-word statement, and the only team it mentioned following the court ruling was APOEL. We had stated, as APOEL, that we cannot accept being held up as an example to avoid when it comes to judicial committee rulings, even though we may have received the most penalties in relation to these matters. That is the first point. The second is as follows. Yesterday, in its latest statement, AEL stated that APOEL must stop playing the game of making a spectacle. But APOEL isn’t playing any games; it’s referring to facts, and one fact that AEL also cites is the investigation’s conclusion. The finding indicates that the AEL player was rightly punished and that this is something he has done before. He also used the same rhetoric in 2019 to avoid the penalty, claiming that he didn’t mean to spit. I’m telling you that it would be particularly important for us to hear a team that alleges something actually allege it specifically regarding that incident.”
Regarding the allegation of match-fixing: “Beyond that, the second reason APOEL issued a statement is that right now it’s constantly being mentioned— we’ve even heard a member of the Ethics Committee state that an investigation into match-fixing is underway. But what does match-fixing mean? Who is involved? Who is behind it, and to whose benefit? If AEL is referring to something specific, they should clarify it. We’re talking about a match that ended 2-0, where their dominance on the field was clear from the first minute to the last. So, to avoid any insinuations, AEL would have to be very specific, and we would support that. There is a finding that has been mentioned—one that AEL actually endorses and applauds—and some allegations have been made; we’ll wait to see the results, and I want to make it clear that APOEL has absolutely nothing to do with any of this—quite the opposite. On the contrary, APOEL should feel wronged both by the referees’ decisions and by the fact that a player should have been sent off at least 8 minutes earlier.”
On refereeing: “What exactly was the Association’s position? Referees need to understand why the teams are protesting. Some teams protest excessively; others protest fairly. We experience this issue both on and off the field. Listen—they cited the good officiating in the Omonia–Celta match and claimed that our officiating is miles behind, but these are the referees who are saying that, not us. Referees don’t stop being referees when they step off the field. They serve an institution and should behave accordingly at all times in their daily lives.”
Regarding the red card shown to Papadopoulos: “We should note that the coach said one thing, but something else was recorded in the match report. The referee wrote in the match report, in the imperative, that he would not referee another APOEL match. Our coach publicly said exactly what he had told the other coach.”
Regarding the team’s schedule: “Starting today, the team has a five-day break; the players will return on the 28th of the month. We’re a team that has had many serious absences since the first matchday. We’ve lost Kattirtzis, Piero, Mancini, and Marquinhos; we’d already lost Vrontis, Laifis, and Carillo. I’ve mentioned a great many players, and this is a major issue for the coach because he can’t work effectively or assess his players. We hope that with the return of our players, the team will perform better and we’ll achieve our goals.”
