The shootings at an amateur team match in Aspropyrgos are yet another slap in the face of supposed tough measures on fan violence.
Far West once again became a football stadium last Sunday, as shots were fired during a football match of the EPS West Attica amateur championship between Apollon Pontion and Mandraikos at the Aspropyrgos stadium.
According to the report, the match was stopped shortly before the end of the first half and police forces rushed to the scene immediately and found two people injured from the previous incidents in the stands between fans of the two teams, as well as nine shell casings from the shots that fell during the episodes. A total of ten people were brought to the Security Directorate of Western Attica.
However, this is not the first time that Greek football has been confronted with weapons on the pitch. There were quite a few incidents in the past with cowboys and others…sheriffs carrying guns in the stands, even in the offices of EPAE, the then organizing authority of the championship, in its offices in Themistokleous in the center of Athens – back then, in the 80s, when every meeting
some agents and their dozens of henchmen were going in and out of the building with guns slung in belts through their fancy suits.
So let’s remember some of the most serious incidents with gunmen in Greek stadiums, so that we don’t fall from the clouds with what just happened in Aspropyrgos, but also to understand that the supposedly strict measures of Yannis Vroutsis against fan violence are not violated by anyone. take into account.
October 2, 1985
Panathinaikos welcomed the Italian Torino in the 2-1 rematch for the then UEFA Cup. The match ended 1-1 and the “clover” had many complaints from the French referee Michel Votro. After the match, the Italians claimed that the then major shareholder of the “green” PAE Giorgos Vardinogiannis entered the bellows undisturbed threatening the referee with a gun, however he was restrained by his personal security. Although the above was categorically denied by the management of Panathinaikos, UEFA, following a complaint by the referee and according to the front page (12/10/85) of the newspaper “Athletic Echo”, punished G. Vardinogiannis with a four-year suspension from European matches of his team and PAE with a fine of 6,500,000 Drach.
November 15, 1999
AEK welcomed Olympiakos to their old stadium “Nikos Goumas” under suspension, so the match was played behind closed doors. Olympiacos won 2-0 but the hosts had
terrible complaints from the referee Dimitropoulos and after the end their anger overflowed. Some AEK fans began to erupt against the righteous and the unjust. Victor Mitropoulos, then president of EPAE, flees to the Stadium’s Members Club. There he verbally grabbed Dimitris Melissanidis and the cooler ones got in the middle so as not to get caught. On top of the panic that took over Vict’s driver. Mitropoulou Nikos Giannoudakos takes out a 22-gauge revolver from the inner case and fires twice into the air. Loss. Giannoudakos was arrested but released with restrictive conditions and after a monetary guarantee of 2 million drachmas was set. Much later the Board of Misdemeanors changed the original charge of “attempted serial murder” against the defendant to “attempted grievous bodily harm” and he was spared life.
February 2002
In the AEK – PAOK Cup match in New Philadelphia, the then strong man of the Union Makis Psomiadis attacked the referees and the observer of the match holding… a pistol (!), which he pointed at his temple and threatened to kill himself! The observer B. Balokas recorded the events in detail in his report, in contrast to the referee Papadakos who did not make the slightest reference to the match sheet! Psomiadis was never punished, as he had no official status at the time at PAE AEK and declared himself “a simple… fan of the team”.
December 2009
Panathinaikos goalkeeper Alexandros Jorvas complained that he was shot from an air gun behind the goal he was fighting for during the derby of the “eternals” in Karaiskakis. He was summoned ex officio by the prosecutor of Piraeus, where he presented photographic material of his injuries after the end of the match as well as a relevant opinion from a state hospital. There wasn’t even an investigation.
May 2016
In Rhodes, in a match for the 3rd International Children’s Football Cup and in the presence of dozens of minor children, the father of one of them, aged 47, got into a fight with three members of the Digenis Koskinou team, aged 24, 46 and 49. The father was beaten in front of his family and called for help to his 42-year-old brother who pulled out a gun and fired once at one of the assailants. Police officers immediately arrived at the stadium and arrested all those involved and brought them to the Rhodes Police Station, where a criminal case was filed against the two brothers.
March 11, 2018
Another black page in Greek football was written in a match for the Super League championship, during the title derby between PAOK and AEK in Toumba. Shortly before the end and due to a disallowed PAOK goal (the score was 0-0 up to that point) the match was thrown into the air. The climax was when the major shareholder of the “black and white” PAE Ivan Savvidis invaded the playing field and attacked the referee Kominis, having a revolver in the holster he wore on his waist. The scene with the gunman naturally went around the world through the international media. After the stoppage of the match, Savvidis and four other members of his personal entourage were wanted to be arrested in the context of the autoforos, since according to the law the possession of weapons is not allowed in sports venues or for police officers. Savvidis was punished at first instance with a 25-month suspended prison sentence, which at the appeals court after five years (in May 2023) was reduced to eight months suspended.
February 28, 2022
Corinth reported that during their match against Teneati Athikion for the playoffs of the local A’ division of EPS Corinthia, an Athikian fan fired a rifle into the field three times, cursing and threatening the team’s players and fans.
March 27, 2022
Once again at EPS Korinthia, the game AO Loutraki – PAS Korinthos for the playoffs of the A’ division was not held because, as it became known from the website korinthosnews.com, when the referee of the match Pantelis Hondropoulos left his house to go to the his car and go to the field found two bullets in his windshield. In a bad psychological state, he informed the police and the local football authorities and the match was cancelled.
#responded #Brutsis #taking.. #weapons
