Self Inflicted wounds
In light of the latest incident to rock Greek Football, we ask what if anything can be done to stop these acts of on-field violence in Greece’s football stadiums?
Everybody who watches Greek Football, loves it for its raw passion and emotion, but too often it can spill into violence which often sees it spill onto the pitch.
Greek supporters are some of the most passionate you will find in any sport on this planet.
We are of the view that fans can say what they want in a stadium and vent after a long week and let off all the flares they want. But crossing the line and engaging in on field violence is where the line must be drawn
The toxic discourse of Greek football pits everybody against each other and creates victims and aggressors inflamed by rogue club directors and representatives constantly running their mouth and provoking their opposition.
Here are the thoughts of some of our Hellas Football bloggers.
Today's events at Toumba once again speak to what I say about Greek Football and why we are always in this position of embarrassment and disgrace.
The whole Greek Football system is based on below the line behaviors which in line keep us in the dark ages, people in power are always looking to lay blame elsewhere, accuse other people or clubs of this and that and above all, never take ownership of their mistakes or miss management.
Very few are above the line, which involves being accountable, finding better ways, taking responsibility, see possibilities and actually seeking solutions.
We have had crowd issues... forever, yet in 2018 we still can't keep the 0.5% of idiots that break the rules accountable, and the solution to this? Abandon a whole game and play more games without fans... we have been punishing the other 99.5% forever yet Greek powers that be, never look at any formidable solutions.
People like Giorgos Savvidis (son of PAOK president Ivan) shouldn't be provoking OSFP fans and players about the game as he has done the last two months, the fans, especially the silly ones don't need more adrenalin to do the wrong thing, which is what has happened.
As for Olympiakos, they will do anything to win so given the opportunity they will take a win on paper as they have in the past.
Ultimately though, Greece needs to get with the times and start implementing security measures to hold the 1 or 2 people that throw objects from the crowd accountable, have them arrested and banned from stadiums others wise without any accountability this will not stop.
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Just when you think Greek football is at rock bottom and can’t possibly descend further that it currently is; the fans shock you in ways only Greek ultras know how.
Yesterday was meant to represent a coronation for PAOK, with a 3rd domestic title on the line, their first since 1985. And there would be no better way for them to flex their muscles then to do it against an Olympiakos side sitting in 3rd place and having their worst season in years. The chance to rub salt into Olympiakos wounds should’ve been motivating for PAOK. Instead, it brought about chaos in Thessaloniki and a receipt roll of paper could now jeopardise their chances of winning the championship.
There has been much debate in the aftermath of the event with fans of all the top sides getting involved. Many fans debated that Oscar Garcia overreacted and that the game should’ve continued whilst other fans called the incident ‘karma’ considering a similar incident happened in last year’s playoffs. The debate will also rage on if PAOK receives a different penalty to Panathinaikos’ from last season where a similar incident occurred.
Overall, last night’s scenes were despicable. It doesn’t matter how heated the rivalry becomes, throwing objects and aiming at officials is not on. It is the precise reason the game is being held back in Greece.
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The biggest game of the season and possibly the biggest in Greek football for years. All the hype, all the expectations. Olympiakos up against it, PAOK full of confidence, winning for fun. It may come as a shock to some but for me personally, the end result is no shock in any way, shape or form. The ensuing scenes summed up everything that is wrong with Greek football to a tee.
It seems every time Olympiakos is involved in a big game, controversy always follows and it almost always results in the opposition team copping a heavy punishment. Whether or not they provoked PAOK fans to behave in such a manner we will never know but Garcia milked it for all it was worth knowing his team would get a 3-0 win on paper. Very convenient given PAOK were flying high and his team faced a huge test.
Of course, I do not condone the behaviour of the lunatic PAOK fan, it is symbolic of the game in Greece as a whole and what Greek culture has become. Any punishment is fully justified. It's a wider societal issue that shows no signs of slowing down due to the lack of laws and enforcement.
Derbies in Greece are often marred with ugly scenes and the perpetrators get off without a punishment. Things need to be done to weed the troublemakers out and change the toxic culture. Funny the difference a few months makes for PAOK, who cried foul when Vladan Ivic was hit by a bottle at Leoforos against Panathinaikos. It's now their turn to face the music.
Yannis Anastasiou, who was hit by a bottle from the crowd at Karaiskaki against Olympiakos, got straight up on that occasion and his team ended up winning 3-0 at their arch rival's ground. A fitting reward, however, this does not happen often enough in Greek football. Clubs are too concerned with looking to win the easy way without dignity and we love blaming others when we fail. That's something out of the control of the EPO unfortunately.
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Today’s fiasco showed that the game has regressed to a point that can no longer be tolerated. In the weeks leading up to this match all fans were on the same page saying that any incident no matter small or large will become a focal point in this game so it was important for the PAOK fans to be on their best behavior in the stadium which when rocking is intimidating within itself. Sadly though this didn't happen.
The argument should not be whether Olympiakos came with a preconceived idea on how the get the game abandoned or why a PAOK fan stupidly threw a cash register roll at Garcia but why does this keep happening and how it has become the norm in our league?
This whole tit-for-tat childish behaviour we’ve become accustomed with by clubs needs to end.
All club owners must take responsibility for the unruly behaviour of their own fans and the league
itself aligned with the police (if need be) must step up and show swift unrelenting power when incidents happen to eliminate the criminal behaviour that has crept into the league.
Maybe then we will see our game grow.
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It was supposed to be one of PAOK’s biggest games in the club’s history, but instead before a ball had been kicked, violence erupted between PAOK supporters and the Greek police once the game had been officially cancelled.
You would have thought for a club that has not tasted success in the league for 33 years that the fans would be desperate to not do anything to harm their chances of winning this seasons league title but instead it was ruined again by a minority of supporters who think that they are bigger than the club.
Although there is disappointment throughout PAOK after the incidents that occurred at the Toumba Stadium, the playing group still remained positive with star player Dimitris Pelkas’ posting a team picture to Instagram and writing “This is our family that nobody can destroy. We take what we deserve I promise”. PAOK forward Djalma Campos also posted on his Instagram directing his message at Olympiakos stating “Shame, If there is no desire to play in this amazing
atmosphere, you better leave football.
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It’s the first time in almost a decade where the top flight of Greek football has a 3 horse title race with only seven match day’s remaining. Sunday night was an opportunity for PAOK to stretch the gap between themselves and previous champions Olympiakos to twelve points.
However, the game never went ahead. Before a ball was kicked the Olympiakos manager Oscar Garcia was struck in the eye with a receipt role & taken to hospital. Events like this, has been the cancer crippling Greek football for a long time now. Toumba was sold out with passionate Paokzides, who were about to witness a potential championship deciding game, but some lunatics decided to be violent. This not only harms PAOK’s chances of a championship, but damages the reputation of Greek football, as if it wasn’t already damaged enough.
PAOK communications director Kyriakos said: "It was obvious that Olympiakos came here with that goal (to suspend the match). They have been provoking for 30 years now. They came to scream and to provoke." Well maybe Kyriakos is correct, but when a manager gets a bloody lip from your own fans throwing receipt rolls then you don’t have a leg to stand on.
The next days will determine the fate of the events that occurred Sunday night, which ended in being ANOTHER DARK DAY for Greek football.
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