Soccer referee offered police protection in Cyprus

Cypriot police have offered protection to a soccer referee following unspecified threats against his life, a police spokesman said on Tuesday.

He did not name the referee, but Cyprus media reported that police are protecting the referee of a match on Saturday between Nicosia rival teams Apoel and Omonia.

Apoel clinched a 3-2 win in extra time, almost making sure of becoming champions, with three games still to go.

"We thought it was prudent to take precautionary measures given violent incidents against referees," said police spokesman Andreas Angelides.

He did not specify the kind of protection accorded to the referee, after he received an SMS message saying "this will not be forgotten" .

The president of the Referees Association has said he could count at least five cases of serious violence against referees in a year.

In January referees stayed away from soccer fields for a week after a grenade went off outside the house of a referee's mother. A month later the car of another referee was torched down.

The row over Saturday's soccer match took a political turn after left-wing AKEL party issued an angry statement accusing the Cyprus Football Association of plotting against left wing teams.

Omonia is closely associated with AKEL.

Its defeat may cost it the opportunity to play in the lucrative European UEFA championships. Endi