Riot police protest by refusing stadium duty after colleague’s injury
Riot police officers (MAT) protested on Thursday by initially refusing to take their positions outside the Panathenaic Stadium for the Panathinaikos soccer match against the Israeli soccer team Maccabi Haifa. Updated information, however, indicates that they will be present outside the stadium during the match.
The MAT squads stopped at the intersection of Alexandras and Kifisias Avenue, refusing to proceed to the stadium where they were supposed to be stationed during the soccer match.
According to Kathimerini, a riot police officer stated, “We will stay here and intervene only if there is a need to restore order.”
This unprecedented act of protest followed the severe injury of their 31-year-old colleague during clashes with Olympiakos fans outside a volleyball match in Rentis last Thursday. The officer was struck by a flare on the leg and was transferred to the General State Hospital of Nikaia, where he underwent surgery and was placed under intubation.
According to the latest updates from the hospital, the officer’s left lower limb was amputated due to irreversible ischemic damage and extensive muscle necrosis. He remains in the Intensive Care Unit in critical condition.
