Greek Cup final for pupils only
The Greek Cup final between holder Olympiakos and league champion Panathinaikos will take place as planned on March 6, but only in front of school children, the Hellenic Basketball Federation announced on February 25.
After the vendetta that is kicking off in earnest due to the incidents at the soccer derby between these two clubs on February 19, the General Secretariat for Sports has asked the federations of team sports to try and avoid having hardcore fans at the stands when Olympiakos and Panathinaikos meet in any sport for the rest of the season, according to reports.
This is why the court of Elliniko will host the final in front of 3,000 children up to the age of 12, as the secretariat and the federation agreed. The Education Ministry will undertake the distribution of tickets to pupils, the federation added.
Interestingly, the national team’s fan club, «Pelargi» (i.e. Storks) asked for 500 tickets for their members, but their request was rejected as it would mean that several Olympiakos and Panathinaikos fans would be sitting side by side.
In the last couple of years, the final between these same teams took place with three quarters of the stands empty and a few hundred hardcore fans of each team sitting at opposite stands of the Elliniko court.
