AEL President Costas Konstantinou made statements following the conclusion of the meeting between the clubs, the Cyprus Football Association (CFA), and Antonio Damato.
Here’s what he said:
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
“As far as I’m concerned, the conclusion is that the Federation is trying to do certain things—things that should be made public to show that there is consistency and transparency—and is instead feeding them to the media. An example is the finding that came out of the complaint we filed. They say something happened; we ask where all the presidents are and what this ‘something’ is, but they don’t tell us. We ask to read the findings, but they won’t hand them over to us. I’m trying to understand why this veil of secrecy always hangs over the federation. Why won’t they open the doors?
We’re exploring various options; we hope the police will do their job. We’ve asked the police to request this, as well as the Ethics Committee, which is now fully authorized to investigate the case. Of course, we won’t leave the matter at that; we’re also exploring other ways to bring what happened to the public’s attention. AEL won’t get any points, any money, or anything else. We want transparency—nothing else.
We’re looking into whether there’s a way to take this to UEFA. Since no regulations are being followed that would demonstrate transparency in Cypriot soccer, we’ll try to take this to higher authorities.
The issue of refereeing is a huge one. No matter how many hours we spend discussing it, everyone will point out the positives and the negatives. There is a problem with refereeing, which is why we’re bringing in foreign referees and demanding that we bring in foreign referees and VAR officials starting now. However, it’s not as clear-cut an issue as the one I mentioned earlier. There is a problem; the referees need more help and support, and it’s up to Mr. Damato to find the solution.
I was sure we’d have a better season this year because everyone did a better job this year. The budget also went up; we went through a rough patch after the 6-0 loss. Fortunately, the team showed that it has what it takes to overcome the major setbacks that will arise in the future as well, because we’ll have our share of setbacks too. The team has both experience and quality, as well as the depth to keep going. I hope we win our next few games, too. The coach has had my full support since last year, when our fans occasionally turned on him. And this year, after the 6-0 loss. I believe we have the right coach to lead the team in a better direction, and I hope we’ll continue with this coach in the future as well.”
