Nicosia, Cyprus. Former Cyprus Football Association president Giorgos Koumas will make his first court appearance on Friday after being formally served with an indictment in a criminal case concerning a possible conflict of interest, police confirmed on Tuesday.
Indictment and alleged offences
The indictment includes two separate offences, the first relating to the manipulation of sports events and the second the alleged laundering of proceeds from illegal activities. Koumas was served with the indictment over the weekend.
Lawyers’ response
His lawyers, Christos Triantafyllides and Marios Orphanides, said they would state their position once they had fully studied the file, declining to comment further at this stage. “We will respond through the proper legal process,” Triantafyllides said.
Focus of the investigation
The case concerns allegations that Koumas held interests or exercised activities incompatible with his role as head of the football association (CFA), a position he held for more than a decade before resigning in June 2025.
The investigation focuses primarily on football television rights, the management and distribution of related revenues, and whether those arrangements created conflicts of interest that also triggered criminal liability.
Broadcasting rights and transactions under review
Claims include that Koumas, while serving as a senior football official, was involved in the sale of broadcasting rights through companies abroad and that these dealings overlapped with his institutional responsibilities.
Investigators examined transactions involving football matches broadcast in Cyprus, contractual terms with broadcasters, and links between production companies, commentators and federation officials.
Origin of the criminal investigation
The criminal investigation was launched following findings by the ethics and protection of sports committee, which in October 2023 forwarded a detailed report to the attorney general raising concerns about what it described as “multiple conflicts of interest”.
What do you think the court proceedings will clarify about the allegations involving football broadcast rights and conflicts of interest?
