The decision to grant the “Spyros Kyprianou” Sports Center to Maccabi Tel Aviv so that the team can fulfill its European obligations in the EuroLeague has sparked strong reactions, with RoboMarkets AEL publicly expressing its strong disagreement with the way in which the relevant authorities are handling the needs of Cypriot clubs.
The Limassol-based team cites a serious issue of sports planning and institutional response, as, it argues, the allocation of the stadium directly affects its match and training schedules, despite the fact that it already has an agreement to use the venue as its home ground.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
RoboMarkets AEL makes it clear, in fact, that its objection does not concern Maccabi’s presence in Cyprus, but rather the way in which decisions are made, emphasizing that hosting a major European competition cannot come at the expense of Cypriot teams that already use the sports facilities.
At the same time, AEL’s management is raising safety concerns, seeking answers from the KOA and KOPE regarding whether the “Spyros Kyprianou” Stadium is ultimately considered suitable and safe for hosting matches and why, as they argue, different standards are applied when it comes to international competitions versus when Cypriot clubs are playing.
The statement: “RoboMarkets AEL is following with great surprise the latest developments regarding the concession of the “Spyros Kyprianou” Sports Center to Maccabi Tel Aviv, so that it may use it as its home venue for its EuroLeague games.
Let’s make one thing clear from the outset: our issue is not with Maccabi Tel Aviv, nor with the presence of a major European team in Cyprus. Hosting a competition of this caliber can certainly be a significant event for Cypriot sports. However, it cannot come at the expense of Cypriot sports.
Our problem lies in the way the relevant authorities manage a public sports facility, as if there were no Cypriot clubs already using it, basing their competitive schedules on it, and having assumed specific financial and competitive obligations.
RoboMarkets AEL has signed an agreement to use the “Spyros Kyprianou” Stadium as its home venue. It has organized its matches and training sessions there, planned its season, and made specific financial and organizational commitments based on this agreement.
And suddenly, we are informed that the same facility will have to serve the needs of Maccabi Tel Aviv to a significant extent.
Amid all this, RoboMarkets AEL is simply being asked to adapt: to find other training facilities, to overhaul its competition schedule, and to relocate athletes and teams, in order to manage a problem it neither created nor could have foreseen. A team that has organized its entire season based on a specific agreement suddenly finds itself in a position where it must seek solutions on its own.
This is not sound sports planning. It is a shifting of the authorities’ negligence onto the Club’s shoulders.
It is carelessness, institutional recklessness, and a lack of basic respect for the Cypriot clubs themselves.
The KOA must explain how the decision to allocate the stadium was made without first fully ensuring the needs of the teams that already use it and have contractual obligations.
And KOPE must, at long last, act as a federation that protects its clubs and its own league. It is unacceptable for a First Division team, in the middle of the season, to be forced to figure out where and when it can train because other decisions are being made without its input.
The issue of safety raises even greater questions. At a time when we’re reading about special operational plans, heightened security measures, the presence of thousands of fans, and special preparations for Maccabi’s matches against Turkish teams, during a period of tension in relations between Israel and Turkey, it seems that the necessary solutions can be found for these situations.
At the same time, when it comes to games involving Cypriot clubs, a completely different picture is often painted: that the “Spyros Kyprianou” Stadium does not meet the required security standards or that it is not feasible to ensure the necessary policing measures.
This contradiction raises legitimate questions. If special security plans can be drawn up and the necessary resources allocated for high-risk matches, then why can’t the same solutions be applied when it comes to Cypriot clubs?
Ultimately, is the “Spyros Kyprianou” Stadium suitable and safe for hosting matches, or not? And if it is, why does the answer seem to change depending on who is scheduled to play there?
Because it is, at the very least, paradoxical to throw open the doors of our sports facilities to host a team from abroad while, at the same time, leaving local clubs out of our plans.
The KOA and KOPE now have the floor.
And this time, we expect not explanations after the fact, but concrete solutions and concrete commitments.
RoboMarkets AEL will not accept being treated as a guest in its own home.
RoboMarkets AEL Volleyball Committee”
