Fan violence in the spotlight again
Despite the strict sentences and the announcements, nothing has changed when it comes to the world of hooligans after the serious injury of a riot police officer who was struck in the leg by a naval flare on Thursday during a volleyball match between crosstown rivals Olympiakos and Panathinaikos.
The 31-year-old man was reportedly fighting for his life late Friday night, with doctors at the Nikaia General Hospital performing a new surgery on his leg, the second since his injury.
The latest incident occurred just four months after the clashes between soccer hooligans outside the AEK Athens stadium on the eve of a European qualifier against Dinamo Zagreb, which cost the life of 29-year-old Michalis Katsouris.
Investigations were ongoing on Friday to locate the culprit of Thursday’s near fatal incident.
A total of 425 people, almost all those in the stands of the indoor stadium where the men’s volleyball match was taking place, were brought in as suspects for the police officer’s injury. As it turned out, 150 of them were registered in the records of the Subdivision for Combating Violence in Sports Venues as hardliners from Gate 7, the most popular Olympiakos fan club.
Some of the suspects have been accused in the past of involvement in violent incidents. Also on Friday, Olympiakos fans were summoned to the Hellenic Police (ELAS) headquarters in an attempt by investigators to glean information about the incident.
The match started at 9 p.m. and the officer’s injury occurred at the end of the first set when a group of about 100 people came out of the stadium and attacked the riot police with Molotov cocktails and naval flares. They then returned to the stadium and mingled with other fans. When the police confined them inside the stadium after the officer was injured, they allegedly tried to set fire to the toilets to force the police to open the stadium doors for security reasons, allowing them to escape.
There were no security cameras inside the stadium that would help investigators gather information while footage from a camera outside the stadium did not provide any data.
In a statement, Olympiakos Amateur Athletic Club wished the officer a speedy recovery but also took issue with confinement by police of the fans in the stadium, calling it “tragic” and reminiscent of “junta and Nazi retaliation tactics.”
