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.

Apollon fans are typically right wing, with most expected to vote for Ioannis Kassoulides, the independent backed by the right wing Democratic Rally Party.

In the capital Nicosia, first division APOEL supporters are virtually split between Kassoulides and incumbent Tassos Papadopoulos. The incumbent is leading Kassoulides and Communist party leader Demetris Christofias by a whisper in the polls.

Politicians are urging Apollon fans to reconsider.

“The electoral right is a sacred one, too sacred to refuse,” said a spokesman for Kassoulides. “Citizens should take the decision to vote and not react in such a manner.”

Omonia Nicosia fans are almost always diehard supporters of Communist AKEL and are expected to put their support behind Christofias and some key officials of the club have also held positions in the Communist party over the years.

“There has always been a conflict between the political left and right. Parties always want the team they support to do well, it boosts the morale of their supporters, and their voters,” said former Cyprus international Lakis Avraamides.(yahoonews)