A 23-year-old man was arrested in Paphos after being found by police to have been attempting to take a bag full of firecrackers and smoke bombs into the town’s Stelios Kyriakides Stadium ahead of the day’s football match between Pafos FC and Apoel on Sunday evening.

The police confirmed the man is a supporter of Apoel, and that he is not allowed to enter football stadiums thanks to a court banning order.

They later said the man was spotted “moving suspiciously with a shoulder bag” near the stadium, and that when he noticed the police, he fled and was located a short time later on a nearby street without his bag.

The police later found the bag in a nearby field, finding that it contained 39 firecrackers and 20 smoke bombs.

The man reportedly verbally admitted to owning the bag. The police’s investigation into the matter is ongoing.