Greece orders clubs to play without fans for two months،
Football clubs in Greece's top division will have to play all their matches without fans for the next two months after a police officer was seriously injured during a volleyball match in Athens last week, the government said on Monday .
All Super League 1 matches will be played behind closed doors until February 12, 2024, government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis said during a weekly press briefing on Monday.
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The volleyball match in question was between local rivals Olympiacos and Panathinaikos, both of whom belong to the football teams of the same name.
Marinakis said the measure could also apply to some European home matches and could be extended beyond February 12, if major league soccer teams do not take appropriate action by that date, as the installation of cameras and electronic identification systems for their supporters during matches. stadiums.
During Thursday's volleyball match, a 31-year-old police officer was seriously injured by a flare during violent clashes.
In Greece, fights between football fans and clubs are common on and off the field before or after a match and the government is trying to reform football.
More than 400 people were briefly arrested following Thursday's incident that Greek police called a “deadly attack” by hooligans on riot police, including the officer who remains in critical condition at the scene. 'hospital.
Evidence collected helped police track down an 18-year-old man, who confessed to joining the group that attacked police and throwing the flare that injured the officer, an undercover police official told Reuters of anonymity.
The arrested man was expected to testify before a prosecutor on Thursday, the semi-state Athens news agency reported Monday.
“For years, criminals posing as fans have committed serious crimes, seriously injuring and killing [people]“Neither athletes nor fans should suffer from the murderous behavior of criminal gangs and the pathetic tolerance of a tiny minority of supporters,” he added.
Last August, AEK Athens fan Michalis Katsouris was stabbed to death during violent clashes before a Champions League match between AEK and Dinamo Zagreb.
Following another incident, the death of 19-year-old fan Alkis Kampanos during rival clashes in the northern city of Thessaloniki last year, Greece has tightened rules for clubs football, imposed heavier sanctions and strengthened police controls.
Last Tuesday, Greek referees announced a boycott over what they consider unsafe working conditions. As a result, no matches were played in the Super League last weekend.
