'It's a disgrace,' Greeks react to death of soccer fan at violent pre-Athens match clashes

Record ID: 1736919

  • Title: 'It's a disgrace,' Greeks react to death of soccer fan at violent pre-Athens match clashes
  • Date: 8th August 2023
  • Summary: ATHENS, GREECE (AUGUST 8, 2023)(REUTERS) GREEK PARLIAMENT PEOPLE IN FRONT OF PARLIAMENT ATHENS SYNTAGMA SQUARE FOUNTAIN PEOPLE WALKING PAST FOUNTAIN (SOUNDBITE)(Greek) AEK SOCCER CLUB SUPPORTER YIANNIS, 21, SAYING: “It was a disgrace, they called me around twelve and told me it was chaos in Nea Philadelphia, youth and family were being hit. At first I felt sadness, and then anger, this is impermissible for Greece in 2023." SQUARE WITH PARLIAMENT IN BACKGROUND PEOPLE WALKING UP STEPS OF STAIRS OF SQUARE (SOUNDBITE)(Greek) AEK SOCCER CLUB SUPPORTER YIANNIS, 21, SAYING: “I believe if we don’t take the appropriate measures nothing will happen in this country. The police knew about it for two days, I was told, - and there is a document if you want to find it – but nothing happened despite this. The first responsibility is with the state, and then with the teams.”
  • Embargoed: 22nd August 2023 16:37
  • Keywords: FAN GREECE SOCCER
  • Location: ATHENS, GREECE
  • City: ATHENS, GREECE
  • Country: Greece
  • Topics: Europe,Sport
  • Reuters ID: LVA001310708082023RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: A 29-year old man died on Tuesday (August 8) after being seriously injured in violent clashes between fans of the AEK Athens and Dinamo Zagreb soccer clubs before a scheduled match in Athens, Greek police said on Tuesday.
    The man, an AEK fan, was stabbed several times during the clashes outside AEK's soccer pitch in Nea Philadelphia late on Monday, a police official said.
    Police said 100 to 120 Dinamo Zagreb fans showed up late on Monday near the stadium, where AEK fans had gathered.
    Clashes broke out more than an hour after the visiting team's training session ended and the team had left the stadium, with fans from both sides hurling flares, makeshift explosives and stones, police said.
    Three Greek and five Croatian fans were also injured and being treated, and 98 people were arrested for taking part in the violence, the police official said.
    AEK supporter, 21-year old Yiannis, said he felt sadness and then anger over the incident, adding that proper measures needed to be taken for such incidents to be avoided.
    Greek soccer has been plagued by violence on and off the pitch and authorities have repeatedly promised to clean up the game.
    Fights between football fans are frequent before or after a game despite heavy fines.
    Α 19-year-old soccer fan, Alkis Kampanos, was beaten and stabbed to death outside the Aris Thessaloniki club stadium in the northern city of Thessaloniki last year.
    (Production: Stelios Mesinis, Deborah Kyvrikosaios)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2023. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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