The judges are simply calling for more protection from hooligans. Greece, a potential opponent of the Czech team in the basic group at EURO 2024, is known for its fan frenzy. Unfortunately, everything often goes outside the stadiums and outside the framework of the law and normal understanding.
Last weekend, the Volos-Olympiakos match of the highest football competition was interrupted due to the rampage of the fans. The referee of this match received death threats, which was the last straw. The referees announced a strike and the next league round will not take place.
Soccer referees in Greece have decided to boycott following a series of violent attacks including one referee receiving death threats.https://t.co/h67gN8Meaz
— Referee Magazine (@RefereeMag) December 6, 2023
Let’s also remember, for example, the postponed match of the preliminary round of the Champions League between AEK Athens and Dinamo Zagreb a few months ago, when an arranged fight went wrong and one fan was stabbed. Panathinaikos fans were also supposed to attend the home side.
Back then, it was an international duel, but clashes at the domestic level are almost the order of the day. And it doesn’t matter what sport it is. On Thursday, a policeman was seriously injured in a fight between fan groups during the volleyball derby between Panathinaikos Athens and Olympiakos Piraeus.
Groups of ultras, implacable Athenian rivals, clashed outside the hall, throwing flares, gas bombs and rocks at each other. The police responded with tear gas, one law enforcement officer ended up in the hospital. The 41-year-old policeman fell into a coma after being struck by a flare in his left thigh and suffering significant blood loss leading to cardiac arrest.
“One of our police officers has been the target of a murderous attack. This attack must not go unpunished. For a very long time, the Greek police, like most of our society, have paid a high price for fan violence,” said Minister of Public Order Jannis Ikonomu. Police arrested more than 400 people in connection with the incident.
Why volleyball anyway? Violent groups of football supporters often choose matches in other sports of their beloved clubs because the police protection there is not so. The situation has already become unbearable, there has been a strike of football referees and the Greek association or sport in general are certainly not expecting easy weeks or months.
2023-12-09 14:00:00
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