The Cyprus Football Association (CFA) have announced that former referee Alan Snoddy will replace Hans Reijgwart when the Dutchman officially steps down on June 1 next summer. Snoddy, who is considered one of Northern Ireland’s finest ever match officials, is currently a member of the UEFA Referee Convention Panel and the UEFA Referee Centre of Excellence with which he has been credited with assisting countries develop refereeing structures.

Up until this year, he was also Referee Development Officer for the Irish Football Association (IFA) and still works as a Referee Observer for both the IFA and UEFA. Snoddy will be responsible, among other things, for referee appointments during matchdays in Cyprus and for promotions and demotions of referees. He will also be tasked with rating referees based on their performances. One of the biggest problems blighting the beautiful game in Cyprus are accusations of substandard referees and referee bias. Other issues plaguing football in Cyprus include hooliganism, poor financial management at clubs and, most recently, incidents of racism amongst some of the fans.