Fan Violence: Authorities Claim "zero tolerance" and introduce strict measures (video)

Yesterday, August 16, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis met with the President of UEFA and the owners of PA.

The Greek government is introducing three main measures and two precautionary measures against fan violence. Maximou warns of zero tolerance and that the law will be respected.

The main purpose of the Prime Minister’s meeting with the President of UEFA and the owners of PAE is to find common ground and coordinate efforts to combat violence. Kyriakos Mitsotakis calls for early prevention and effective reprisal of those responsible, as well as holding PAE owners accountable. In particular, the government is immediately implementing three key measures to combat fan violence:

1. Closure of organized fan clubs. From now on, each team will have one link based on the official PAE.
2. Installation of CCTV cameras in the stadiums and increased control by the Greek police at the entrance to the stadiums.
3. The activation of the police will take place without notifying the players, in fact, it will be a police raid, during which the risk of incidents is assessed.

If these measures do not have a significant effect, the possibility of applying tougher ones remains open, as follows from two clear warnings from the Prime Minister. They concern the “closing of doors” for organized fans, as well as the exclusion of teams from European competitions.

At the same time, Maximou is trying to make UEFA a participant and facilitator in this effort, emphasizing the European dimension of the problem. Mr. Mitsotakis mentioned during joint statements with UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin that “the aim is to revitalize, in addition to national and European organizations, on the violence prevention front.” The Prime Minister called on UEFA to be strict with the organized movement of supporters who have committed violent offences.

On the background bloody episodes in New Philadelphia and the bad impression left by the actions of the police, writes CNN Greece, Maximou is trying to limit the “damage” caused, while the Prime Minister himself publicly promises that “the perpetrators will be found and punished”:

“We are indebted to the memory of Michalis Katsouris, as well as to the millions of fans. We promise to achieve our goals.”

The head of UEFA called hooligan fans “a cancerous tumor in football”. After the tragic death of a Greek fan, the UEFA president arrived in Athens. He held talks with the Prime Minister of Greece and representatives of the country’s football clubs.

Alexander Čeferin, who arrived in Athens a week after the death of Michalis Katsouris during clashes between fans of the Greek AEK and Croatian Dinamo Zagreb, promised to do everything possible to combat violence in football. He declared:

“They are the cancer of football. And they are not football fans. Don’t call them football fans because they are not. They are people who use football for their idiotic ideas.”

Čeferin also held talks with representatives of the four main Greek clubs. They took place a few hours before the Super Cup match between Sevilla and Manchester City. In conclusion, Kyriakos Mitsotakis noted:

“I sincerely hope that the government does not have to resort to the last measure of punishment that is at our disposal – the temporary exclusion of Greek teams from European club football competitions. I am sure that it will not come to this and I believe that everyone has realized not only the seriousness of the situation, but also the determination of the government to eradicate this evil.”

More than 100 people have been arrested in Athens on charges of murder and membership in a criminal group. Most of them are citizens of Croatia. UEFA has postponed the Champions League qualifying match between AEK and Dynamo, which was supposed to take place last week. The game was held on August 15 in Zagreb. AEK won with a score of 2:1. On Saturday the teams will play in Athens.

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