Taking Sides in Cyprus

APOEL FC and Omonia - two very different sides of the rather unheralded but no less shiny coin that is Cypriot football. But why are they always at loggerheads? Returning to Just Football, Greg Theoharis explains:

It’s Party Conference season in the UK and the assembled media outlets have been bombarding us all with whether or not Labour will ditch the ‘New’ and lurch back to the Left with the election of Ed Miliband as Party Leader. Meanwhile, the coalition’s façade of camaraderie is being tested to the full with the Lib Dem’s Vince Cable questioning the very foundations and ethics of capitalism whilst the Tories swing the axe of financial prudence. And what’s all this got to do with football, you might ask? If you were a fan of football in Cyprus, such moving and shaking on the political field would make all the difference to how you tie your colours to the mast.

As a Spurs fan, my dislike of Arsenal is inherently based on the fact that they just happen to be parked a couple of miles up the road from us. One’s political and social outlook has no bearing on this antipathy and it’s highly likely I’m politically opposed to many inhabitants of the Paxton end. However, the Nicosia derby between APOEL and Omonia last weekend only served to further fuel the simmering political divisions which have served to cause as much heartache and violence on the tiny Mediterranean island as the ongoing Turkish occupation.

Just a few minutes into the second half, with APOEL leading 3-0 against their visitors and during a delay in proceedings after a flare was thrown onto the pitch, an Omonia fan took to burning a Greek flag which served to enrage the APOEL end that had been taunting their rivals with a sea of nationalistic symbols throughout the game’s duration. Both clubs were quick to condemn the act, which is deemed an act of illegality because the Greek flag is considered to be a Cypriot national symbol.

Omonia as a club is traditionally associated with the far-left Communist Party (AKEL) that is currently in power whilst APOEL has connections along nationalistic grounds. APOEL fans consider their ethnic identity as being Greek rather than Cypriot and believe that the island is merely an annex of the Greek mainland.

The heavy political involvement within both clubs, whether proven or implied, has resulted in the ongoing enmity that potentially limits the development of the Cypriot national team and is the main cause for football related violence. At the culmination of last season, with Omonia beating APOEL to the title, a fan of the latter team was beaten senseless by Omonia supporters, after APOEL fans deliberately hijacked a football tournament held by their rivals.

There has been intense media scrutiny of Omonia’s political connections in recent months after the club’s chairman, Miltiades Neophyto, was awarded several key government public works projects for his civil engineering company, Miltiades Neophytou Civil Engineering Contractors & Developers Ltd. These contracts have seemingly run parallel to Omonia’s increased spending power in the transfer market, power that has seen the club’s budget drastically improved, culminating in the capture of several high-profile signings in the post-season including the former Newcastle and Portsmouth striker, Lomana LuaLua. While there is nothing intrinsically illegal, many critics have questioned the morality of the government’s alleged willingness to blatantly favour one particular side.

Meanwhile, APOEL and various other right-leaning clubs in Cyprus have been concerned with the emergence of the far-right National People’s Front (ELAM), who have taken to occupying the terraces in black shirts and waving swastikas as they pursue an ultra-partisan and racially intolerant campaign of hatred.

The stymieing attitude of right-wingers in Cyprus refuses to accept the rights of Turkish Cypriots on the island and it is not uncommon to see Greek Cypriots celebrate Greek achievements on the football field with more exuberance than those of the Cypriot national team. This inevitably enrages supporters of the traditionally left-wing clubs who believe in a unified island that is encompassing of both ethnicities on equal terms.

The battlegrounds are drawn across a plethora of cultural pursuits, from wine-drinking to newspaper reading but it is within the country’s football stadia that the political sectarianism is most outwardly prominent.

With the great strides made by Cypriot teams in the Champions League in recent years, the one hope for reconciliation and unity between the factions may lie in the national team’s campaign to qualify for Euro 2012. The first match in Portugal garnered a 4-4 draw that proved to be the death knell to Carlos Queiroz’s reign as manager and a group consisting of Denmark, Norway and Iceland is crying out for the ubiquitous ‘surprise package’ to emerge.

Qualification for a major tournament would shine a spotlight on the island, and go a long way to creating the sense of unity and cultural identity that Cyprus so desperately needs. It’s time for ideology to take a backseat to reality. A former Labour leader would wholeheartedly agree with that sentiment.

Greg Theoharis is the editor of Dispatches From A Football Sofa. Have a peek.

(photo via Jorge-11 on Flickr)

APOEL FC, Cyprus, Cyprus First Division, Omonia, Politics and Society