Cyprus Football Association updates judicial bodies and officiating policies

On July 9, the Cyprus Football Association (CFA) announced a structural reform of its judicial bodies to modernize justice administration. The single Sports Judge position will be replaced by a three-member Judicial Committee, and the Disciplinary Prosecutor role will transition to a three-member Prosecution Committee. Reports indicate that the outgoing Sports Judge, Aristotelis Vryonidis, and Disciplinary Prosecutor, Stelios Nikolaou, will remain in their positions as part of these expanded committees, despite objections from some clubs. Concurrently, the CFA president announced that the upcoming season will rely primarily on local referees, complemented by foreign officials when necessary, maintaining the strategy used last season. The federation also published a schedule of pre-season friendly matches starting July 16, with several games set to be played behind closed doors. New arbitration regulations aligned with UEFA standards have been disseminated to referees to ensure consistent application. As the season approaches, the focus remains on whether these procedural changes will lead to uniform officiating across all league matches.