Croatian soccer fans arrested in violent clashes in Athens released on bail
Prosecutors have given the green light for the release on bail of 30 Croatian nationals arrested in August after a 29-year old man died in violent clashes between soccer clubs fans in Athens.
More than 100 people, most of them Croatian nationals, have been detained since August pending trial over the violence before a UEFA Champions League match between AEK Athens and Dinamo Zagreb that led to AEK fan Michalis Katsouris being stabbed to death. More than 70 of them are still detained in Athens.
The fans were released on condition that they pay a bond of €1,000 and do not return to Greece to attend a match
The applications for release of the remaining 65 non-nationals are expected to be heard in the coming hours, the semi-official AMNA news agency said.
Greece has tried for years to reform soccer, which has been plagued by violence on and off the pitch.
In another incident on Thursday night, the police detained about 400 fans after a police officer was critically injured in clashes that broke out during a volleyball match in Athens between local teams Olympiakos and Panathinaikos at Olympiakos’ Rentis stadium.
The officer remains in hospital in a critical condition, an Athens police official said on Friday. [Reuters]
