The news sends shivers down your spine. The police officer seriously injured by the throwing of a distress flare during clashes between hooligans on the sidelines of a volleyball derby in Athens in early December has died. The announcement was made this Wednesday by the hospital where he was being treated. Aged 31, the official, injured in the thigh, was hospitalized, suffering from a hemorrhage, after the volleyball match between the two rivals of the Greek capital, Olympiakos and Panathinaikos. The violence took place outside the Melina-Merkouri stadium, in Rentis, in the suburbs of the Greek capital.
Doctors had amputated it in an attempt to save his life. An 18-year-old man was arrested and confessed to throwing the rocket at law enforcement on December 7. In response, and while the violence has largely shaken Greek sport, the government announced that all football championship matches would be played behind closed doors until February 12.
When the stands become an outlet
Other measures have been announced: the installation in all stadiums of high-definition cameras and electronic entry systems with verification of the identity of supporters. In the process, the president of the Greek Football League Vangelis Marinakis resigned.
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.
