A 29-year-old Greek soccer fan was stabbed to death on the outskirts of Athens during a violent brawl between rival club supporters, and 96 people were arrested, police said yesterday.
The 22-year-old man was taken to an Athens hospital where he died, police said.
The fight between fans broke out on Monday evening ahead of the UEFA Champions League third-round qualifying match between hosts AEK Athens and Croatian club Dinamo Zagreb.
Photo: AP
The UEFA announced it has postponed the match because of the violence.
“A serious incident took place outside the Nea Filadelfeia stadium,” Greek police said. “A young Greek man was stabbed to death and six other injured people are in hospital.”
At least eight people have been injured, including three Greeks and five Croats.
They include a minor who was admitted to hospital after being hit in the head by a stone, public television channel ERT reported.
The Greek Ministry of Citizen Protection said that fans from both sides had clashed near the stadium, throwing stun grenades, stones, incendiary devices and other items. Some were carrying bats.
The violence started about an hour and a half after the visiting team had completed training and left the pitch under police escort, the ministry said.
Dinamo Zagreb’s board of directors condemned the violence.
“We recall that UEFA took the decision, along with the police, that the two matches would take place without the supporters of the away club attending,” they said. “We urge Dinamo supporters not to travel to Greece.”
After the fan’s death, Greek authorities had requested that all supporters should be excluded from the match.
Dinamo fans were officially already excluded under a previous ruling by UEFA.
UEFA said that what was going to be the second leg in Zagreb on Wednesday next week would now be the first leg. The second leg would be held in Athens next week on Friday or Saturday.
Greece’s left-wing opposition party Syriza criticized the police for what it perceived to be their lack of control of the Dinamo supporters.
“The Croatian hooligans, who have a long history of links with the far right and violent attacks, crossed the country with one thing in mind — to cause trouble,” Syriza said. “Were they kept under surveillance by the Greek authorities?”
“Were any preventative measures put in place along their route?” it said.
Violence has marred a number of Greek football matches.
After a stabbing death last year, the government increased the maximum sentence for fan violence from six months to five years.
Additional reporting by AP
SSC Napoli will have to wait one more week to seal the Serie A title after on Sunday being held to a goalless draw at Parma, while closest rivals Inter drew 2-2 in a dramatic game with SS Lazio. Antonio Conte’s team stayed one point ahead of Inter and were unfortunate not to win after twice striking the woodwork through Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Matteo Politano, while Scott McTominay also had a free-kick tipped onto the crossbar. The away side thought they would be handed a chance to take the points from the penalty spot in the 96th minute when David Neres
Omar Marmoush’s stunning long-range strike on Tuesday upstaged Kevin de Bruyne on the Manchester City great’s Etihad farewell. Marmoush let fly from about 30m to put City ahead in their 3-1 win against AFC Bournemouth in the Premier League. The victory moved Pep Guardiola’s team up to third in the standings and left qualification for the UEFA Champions League in their own hands heading into the last round of the season. “It’s really important. To be in the Champions League after what happened [this season] will be really nice,” the City manager said. De Bruyne was making his final home appearance for City before
Brighton & Hove Albion’s Jack Hinshelwood on Monday sealed a dramatic 3-2 victory against Liverpool to leave the English Premier League champions without a win since clinching the title. Arne Slot’s side took the lead through Harvey Elliott’s early opener before Yasin Ayari equalized at the American Express Stadium. Dominik Szoboszlai restored Liverpool’s advantage just before halftime, but Brighton staged a late fightback as Kaoru Mitoma leveled before Hinshelwood came off the bench to net with his first touch. Liverpool have taken just one point from their three matches following the title-clinching rout of Tottenham Hotspur on April 27. The Reds have lost at
Logan O’Hoppe, Taylor Ward and Matthew Lugo homered, and the Los Angeles Angels spoiled Clayton Kershaw’s season debut, beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 11-9 on Saturday night to take the first two games of the three-game series. Kershaw allowed three runs and threw 38 pitches in the first inning. The three-time National League Cy Young Award winner lasted four innings, giving up five runs on five hits with three walks and two strikeouts. Shoulder, toe and knee injuries limited Kershaw to seven games last season, and his 2025 debut was delayed as he recovered from multiple offseason surgeries. O’Hoppe had two hits with
RSS