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Cyprus referee's house in pipe bomb attack - police

NICOSIA (Reuters) - A pipe bomb exploded outside the home of a Cypriot soccer referee early on Friday, police said, the latest in a string of threats and attacks against referees and their families.

The explosion damaged a vehicle belonging to the wife of a 38-year-old first division referee. The vehicle was parked outside their home close to the coastal town of Larnaca at the time and the improvised explosive device packed in a pipe was placed on the windshield, police added.

There was also slight damage to a neighbouring home.

Referees on the eastern Mediterranean island have increasingly been targeted in recent years.

In response to the latest incident, referees said they were considering their options, including a possible boycott of fixtures scheduled this weekend.

"All options are open, not excluding an abstention (from fixtures)" said Constantinos Skaboullis, secretary of the referee's association.

"I've counted five similar incidents in less than a year ... Unfortunately this has become a common occurrence and I'm worried that soon we could have a tragedy if this continues," he told state radio.

In January, referees called for a one-week boycott of fixtures in response to a bomb attack outside the home of a referee's mother, and in October 2014 offices of the referees association were damaged by a bomb.

There have been no injuries reported from any of the attacks.

(Reporting By Michele Kambas; Editing by Peter Rutherford)