Cyprus Mail 10 September 2022 - by Gina Agapiou
Limassol CID on Saturday said it has launched an investigation into possible criminal offences after a sold-out concert overcrowded the Tsirio stadium in violation of safety rules earlier this week.
The Limassol stadium was deemed unsuitable to have 100 per cent capacity in August, with those in charge reducing the capacity to 50 per cent.
However, during a concert on Tuesday this percentage was surpassed, as there were reportedly 6,000 people in the west stand.
Following the incident, the Tsirio security officer and a member of the board of directors submitted their resignations.
Commenting on the issue, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the stadium Kyriakos Tsolakis said any violations of the maximum capacity are a responsibility of the organising company.
He told the Cyprus News Agency that there is a contract with the concert’s organisers, which includes a special paragraph on security issues, based on the relevant certificate of the Stadium Licensing Authority.
“We did our job properly to be fully covered and we will provide the contract if requested by the authorities,” he added.
As regards the two resignations, he said it was their right to resign, but he was not aware of the reasons for their resignation.
“In cooperation with Apollon we have already found a new security officer for Sunday’s match at Tsirio Stadium,” Tsolakis said.
Earlier this week, Tsirio stadium published a civil engineer’s report, according to which the stands of the stadium do not have a safety problem apart from some local problems of cracking, oxidation of reinforcement and concrete weathering. These issues are being repaired on an ongoing basis, the report said.
