Football and politics heady mix as Cyprus votes

By Michele Kambas

NICOSIA (Reuters Life!) - Football and politics are proving to be a heady mix in soccer-mad Cyprus, and could even swing the vote in presidential elections on Sunday.

Polls show the February 17 contest a dead heat between three key candidates, setting the stage for a re-run on Feb 24 in a political contest which has often been decided by just a few hundred votes.

But fans of Cyprus first division team Apollon Limassol have gone on the warpath over soccer officiating in a way that the island's political elite cannot ignore.

As many as 2,000 Apollon Limassol fans have turned in their voter registration papers to their fan club and threatened to boycott the elections unless key soccer and refereeing officials are replaced by Friday.

"That's about 0.8-0.9 percent of the electorate I think," said Panicos Zounieris, a spokesman for a supporters' club of Apollon fans. "Fans won't vote unless we see justice done to our team. We will vote for Apollon instead."

Zounieris's sentiments are typical of many fans who say the beautiful game in Cyprus is marred by some ugly cronyism.

Simmering tensions came to a head on February 2, when a game between Apollon and APOEL Nicosia was suspended in Limassol after a disputed penalty was awarded to the visitors in extra time. Police used teargas to disperse angry crowds.

On an island where in the not too distant past even your taste in beer spoke volumes about your political affiliations, who you support in football is a dead giveaway.