A first division football referee had his family home bombed early on Monday morning in what is the latest in a series of problems to hit the beautiful game in Cyprus.
According to media reports, the home belonging to the mother of match official Thomas Mouskos – in the Kapsalou area of Limassol – was targeted at around 12.30am. The explosion sent Mouskos’s screaming 60-year-old mother of the house. She suffered no injures but was treated in hospital for shock.
“A high-powered explosive device had been detonated on Sunday night outside the home of a 60-year-old woman in Limassol,” read a police announcement on Monday morning.
According to a police spokesperson, the bomb had been placed outside the home of Mouskos’ mother and that the explosion caused damage to both the inside and outside of the house.
Mouskos had previously told police that he was receiving death threats following a recent game that he had refereed between Apollon Limassol and Othellos Athienou. During that game, Mouskos had sent off Apollon defender Angelis Angeli in the build-up to a penalty that Othellos score.
The game had finished 2-2 and angry Apollon officials and fans largely blamed Mouskos for their failure to beat Othellos.
Limassol CID are still investigating the recent bombing.
The recent incident has only further damaged the image of the sport in Cyprus.
Mouskos’ fellow referee, Marios Panagi, had opened a can of worms on the match-fixing scandal last month and spoke of a corrupt chain of command beginning with CFA boss Costakis Koutsokoumnis and First Deputy Chairman George Koumas and filtering down to the referee.
Koumas has already been questioned by police while Koutsokoumnis and CFA General Manager Anthoulis Mylonas are also expected to get a calling.
The head of the Cyprus Referees Association Michalis Argyrou and former referee Michalis Spyrou had been previously remanded in custody.
Investigators have taken statements from around a hundred football and club officials so far.
Cyprus Referees Association is set to hold a meeting at 6pm to discuss what measures to take in light of the latest attack on one of its members. The possibility of a strike has not been ruled out.
Last season, referees across Cyprus conducted a strike after a bomb was planted under the car of referee Leontios Trattos.
Cyprus Weekly