Former Attorney General Petros Klerides has been appointed as the new Head of the Cyprus Football Association’s (CFA) Appeals Committee. Nicosia barrister Klerides was deputy attorney general before being promoted to the rank of attorney general where he served for almost five years. During his term in office, Klerides was head of the legal services that prosecuted some of the biggest cases the island has ever seen including the Helios air disaster trial, the Mari explosion trial and the Andis Hadjicostis murder trial. An announcement by the CFA on Tuesday night confirmed the appointment of Klerides. “The executive committee of the CFA has appointed former Attorney General Mr. Petros Klerides as Chairman of the CFA Appeals Committee.” Klerides will take over the Appeals Body – which hears out appeals from tribunal rulings – after the previous committee had resigned during the final day fiasco last season. Last’s May title decider between AEL and APOEL at Limassol’s Tsirio stadium was stopped in the 51st minute after APOEL’s Brazilian defender Kaka suffered a head injury when a firework allegedly launched by an AEL fan went off in the team’s bench. APOEL had demanded the three points but the CFA tribunal ruled in favour of a replay of the game prompting APOEL chairman Prodromos Petrides to appeal the decision. But a day before the appeal committee was set to preside over the ruling, APOEL organised a peaceful protest outside the CFA headquarters whilst also demanding the resignations of CFA Chairman Costakis Koutsokoumnis and the tribunal committee. The following day, all the members of the appeals body resigned from their posts throwing the outcome league title decider into further disarray. The replay was eventually played at the neutral Antonis Papadopoulos Stadium which APOEL won 1-0. But in another twist of events, an acting appeals committee later declared that the replay should not have taken place instead APOEL a 3-0 default victory.
Cyprus weekly
Klerides appointed head of football appeals body in Cyprus
