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.

It was parked outside their home close to the coastal town of Larnaca 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 January, referees called for a one-week boycott of fixtures in response to a bomb attack outside the home of a referee's mother.

In October 2014, offices of the referees association were damaged by a bomb.