Clubs in the Super League Greece will have to play the next two months without fans in the stands. Greek government officials made the call to ban supporters from the stadiums after a volleyball game last week. A police officer was attacked in the match between Olympiakos and Panathinaikos. These two teams also have soccer clubs with the same name. The fan ban will be in place until Feb. 12, 2024.
Greek spokesman Pavlos Marinakis made the announcement during a press conference on Monday. The official cited a long history of fan issues throughout the country. Along with the Greek league hosting games behind closed doors, the ban affects European matches.
This will be determined depending on whether clubs install more cameras and introduce electronic identification for the fans. Olympiakos, Panathinaikos, AEK Athens and PAOK are all currently playing in European competitions.
“For years, criminals in the guise of fans have been committing serious crimes by critically injuring and killing [people],” proclaimed Marinakis. “Neither athletes nor fans should they suffer from the murderous behavior of criminal gangs and the pathetic tolerance of a tiny minority of fans.”
Greek government officials have recently made attempts to deter fan violence at sporting events. The nation increased the potential maximum sentences for such activity from six months to five years. This came after Alkis Kampanos, 19, was murdered during an altercation between Aris and PAOK fans in early 2022.
There were also two separate incidents involving fan violence during the current campaign. One AEK Athens supporter, Michalis Katsouris, died after a stabbing before a Champions League qualifier with Dinamo Zagreb. Police arrested dozens of soccer fans, most of whom were Croatian nationals. Officials eventually abandoned the match.
Two months later, violence marred another Greek game. A matchup between rivals Olympiakos and Panathinaikos ended after fans hit a player with a firework. After the incident, Panathinaikos president Giannis Alafouzos claimed that the issue is down to soccer culture inside the country.
“In Greece, we have a culture of violence,” stated Alafouzos. “The rule of law does not apply, unfortunately. We had a situation where we had corruption, a struggling economy, one team dominating and a violent culture among the fans. People did not go to games. Sponsors walked away.”
The top of the 2023/24 Super League Greece standings is congested at the moment. In fact, the top four teams in the table have just three points of separation between them. Panathinaikos currently leads to top division by a slim margin over AEK Athens. However, PAOK and Olympiakos are both also not far behind the league leaders.
Olympiakos sits fourth in the standings due to a one-point penalty for the aforementioned incident involving a firecracker. The Super League gets back underway without fans on Saturday, Dec. 16. OFI is hosting Asteras Tripolis on the day.
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