Tax Proposal Rejected

The meeting between the Tax Commissioner, Sotiris Markides, and the presidents of the football clubs APOEL, AEL, Apollon, Anorthosis, and Ethnikos Achnas—teams with the highest outstanding debts to the Tax Department—began shortly before noon and concluded just after 1:00 PM.

Notably, the meeting was attended by Nik Nikolaou, Director of UEFA’s Club Licensing Committee at the Cyprus Football Association (CFA), which is considered significant. Sources indicate that after rejecting the clubs’ proposal in late January,

Mr. Markides requested that the clubs pay off their outstanding debts accumulated since May 2023—amounting to nearly €4 million—by the end of March to reinstate their previous payment plan. Additionally, he urged them to settle their pending tax returns to court.

Following the meeting, Kikis Philippou (President of Ethnikos Achnas), Konstantinos Konstantinou (President of AEL), and Kyriakos Prastitis (President of Anorthosis) left the Tax Department building without making any statements through the main entrance. The remaining presidents exited through a different exit.

However, as he was leaving, Mr. Konstantinou, President of AEL, mentioned that the presidents of the concerned clubs would need to discuss the matter among themselves, implying that any further developments or disclosures would follow after their internal discussions.