According to a media report, the football match between Olympiacos Piraeus and Panathinaikos Athens in the Greek Super League was canceled on Sunday after a pyrotechnics incident. As the newspaper “Protothema” reported, Spanish Panathinaikos professional Juankar was hit and injured by a firecracker while warming up on the sidelines in the 53rd minute. After an interruption of almost two hours, the match was canceled shortly after 11 p.m. local time.
There was initially no official confirmation from the league that the game was canceled. The live ticker for the game on the website stopped in the 50th minute. At this point the score was 1-1.
“Our team stays in the dressing room”
Panathinaikos announced on Twitter (X) that in the 50th minute a blast fell on the substitutes while they were warming up. “Juankar is lying injured on the ground. Interruption in the game. Our team retreats to the locker room,” the club wrote. An hour later it was said again on Twitter: “Our team stays in the dressing room.”
According to the report by “Protothema”, the doctor responsible for the game did not find any external injuries on Juankar. However, Panathinaikos insisted that the 33-year-old defender would undergo further examinations. Juankar is said to have suffered an ear injury and was taken to hospital, Greek sports radio reported.
The television broadcast did not show the moment of the injury. But Juancar was lying on the grass and covering his ears immediately after the firecracker went off, as eyewitnesses told the dpa. Other players who were nearby also covered their ears after the incident.
