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
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