After serious riots and the death of a Greek football fan, 94 Croatian hooligans were brought before the Athens public prosecutor’s office on Wednesday. Greek television showed the transfer of the alleged rioters live. DNA samples were taken from the men to compare them with DNA on the 29-year-old victim’s body. In addition, according to media reports, five other Croats were arrested who are said to be partly responsible for the serious riots in Athens on Tuesday night and who tried to leave the country as normal vacationers by ferry, bus and car. Another 50 hooligans are still being sought.
The police did not intervene beforehand
Around 150 to 250 Croatian hooligans, most of whom are said to come from the “Bad Blue Boys” group, which is considered particularly dangerous and violent, were on Monday before the AEK Athens game against Dinamo Zagreb in the third round of the Champions League qualification Greece entered despite an agreement between the clubs not to allow opposing fans to the games.
The entry was organized, as numerous video recordings in the Greek media are said to show. A recording shows a convoy of cars with Croatian number plates on the motorway from the northern Greek border to Athens.
The Greek police had been repeatedly warned of the danger from various sources, Greek media reported unanimously. First, the Croatian authorities warned against the entry of “risky fans” (dangerous fans). The Montenegrin border police then informed that around 120 “young people” were on their way south, “probably to attend the AEK Athens vs. Dinamo Zagreb game.” The Montenegrins even sent the Greek police the number plates of the cars in question , it was said. Apparently, no action was taken.
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Dinamo supporters then rioted in the Athens suburb of Nea Filadelfia, where Tuesday night’s game was due to take place at the Opap Arena. They had “beaten everything up and down,” local residents said on Greek television. The fan scene of AEK Athens has also repeatedly attracted attention in the past due to excesses of violence.
Around ten people, including hooligans, were injured and taken to hospital as a result of the riots. The AEK supporter suffered multiple stab wounds during the clashes, one of them in the brachial artery, which was fatal. The game was canceled after the fan’s death and rescheduled for August 19.
