NICOSIA, Cyprus -- The Cyprus Football Association has condemned a bomb attack against the car of a top referee, calling it a blight on the island's footballing family and society in general.

The association says it stands by referee Georgios Nicolaou and urges police to track down and bring the culprits of Tuesday's pre-dawn bombing to justice.Police say the explosion occurred while the car was parked outside the 41-year-old's home in the Larnaca area. The front of the car sustained extensive damage.

A string of attacks against the property of Cypriot referees have occurred in the past two years.

The most recent previous attack took place in March 2015 against the car of another referee that was set ablaze after being doused with flammable liquid.