Faced with the violence which is plaguing sport in Greece, Athens decided on Monday that all matches of the football championship would be played behind closed doors until February 12 and that security measures would be reinforced in the stadiums.
“All matches in the Greek championship will take place behind closed doors for the next two months, i.e. until February 12,” announced government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis, after new violence occurred Thursday during a match volleyball tournament in Athens, during which a police officer was seriously injured.
The government spokesperson specified that this measure could also apply “on a case-by-case basis to the European matches of Greek teams” participating this week in the Europa League (C3) and the Europa Conference League (C4). The C3 match between Olympiakos and the Serbian club Backa Topola will take place on Thursday without spectators, said Mr. Marinakis.
Violence punctuates Greek sport too regularly, deplores the conservative government which had already announced that it wanted to tackle this scourge. “For many years, criminals posing as fans have committed serious crimes, seriously injuring and killing,” denounced Mr. Marinakis.
In several cities across the country, police gathered on Monday to denounce the lack of security in stadiums. Last year, the government had already increased the maximum prison sentence for troublemakers from six months to five years.
“The problem did not start last week nor does it concern the supporters of one or two clubs (…) We must find out who is behind these criminal acts, who tolerates them and who encourages,” the government spokesperson further underlined.
This Tuesday, the Minister of Citizen Protection and the Deputy Minister of Sports are due to meet the prosecutor of the Supreme Court to ask her to speed up and improve all investigations into cases of violence and corruption in sport.
Other measures were announced by the spokesperson: the installation in all stadiums of high-definition cameras and electronic entry systems with verification of the identity of supporters.
These announcements come following an incident that occurred Thursday on the sidelines of a volleyball match between Olympiakos and Panathinaikos outside the Melina-Mercouri stadium, in Rentis, in the suburbs of Athens.
A 31-year-old police officer was seriously injured in the thigh. Suffering from a hemorrhage, he was hospitalized and his state of health is still “critical”, according to the authorities.
Consequence: all matches of the football championship counting for the 14th day and which were to take place this weekend have been postponed.
Following this violence, the police arrested more than 400 people, the majority of whom were released on Saturday.
On Sunday, an 18-year-old Greek boy was arrested, accused of throwing a flare which seriously injured the police officer. Prosecuted in particular for “attempted murder”, he must be presented in court on Thursday.
This violence particularly affects football matches. In a country in economic crisis, the stands become outlets where aggression is based on rivalries between clubs, fueled by owners with interests beyond the limits of the field and who do not hesitate to exacerbate tensions.
On Sunday December 4, a football championship match between Olympiakos and Volos was interrupted due to violence caused by hooligans.
In the process, referees of the football championship announced their intention to carry out a strike “until conditions become normal for (their) physical integrity”.
In February 2022, Alkis Kampanos, a 19-year-old Aris FC supporter, was killed in Thessaloniki by hooligans from rival club PAOK FC.
In August 2023, Michalis Katsouris, a 29-year-old AEK Athens supporter, was stabbed to death during an attack by Croatian and Greek hooligans in the capital.
Thirty supporters of the Croatian football team Dinamo Zagreb, in pre-trial detention in Greece for his murder, were released on Sunday and are to be deported.
