Athens derby abandoned due to crowd violence
Reuters - Sunday 18 March 2012, 22:23
The Athens derby between
Panathinaikos and Olympiakos Pireaus was abandoned after being
interrupted twice by crowd violence on Sunday.
Three fire trucks were called in to extinguish flames as
unruly Panathinaikos fans set several sections of the stands on
fire.
The start of the second half was delayed by 45 minutes as
fans pelted police with flares, molotovs and missiles and was
subsequently abandoned altogether with nine minutes remaining
with Olympiakos 1-0 ahead through Djamel Abdoun's 51st-minute
goal.
Several petrol bombs exploded close to the pitch, prompting
referee Anastasio Kakos to end the match prematurely and pull
the players off the field.
Twenty police officers were injured and more than 50 arrests were
made, while 10 molotov cocktails, sticks, firecrackers and two
knives were confiscated by the authorities, police said.
Panathinaikos captain Kostas Katsouranis said Greek soccer
had been shamed.
"That was not football," Katsouranis told reporters.
"Certainly it's one of the worst moments in Greek football and I
don't even want to comment on the game. As a team we will just
try to get on with the next matches and fight for a place in the
Champions League qualifiers."
Panathinaikos' Portuguese coach Jesualdo Ferreira added: "I
would have liked to talk about a great derby but unfortunately I
can't because this didn't happen.
"As a professional I feel very sorry for what I saw and as a
person who loves Panathinaikos, I certainly don't understand
it."
Panathinaikos, who have already been punished once this
season for the unruly behavior of their fans and were ordered to
play a match behind closed doors, will face a disciplinary
hearing on Tuesday.
League rules state that if a match is abandoned due to
crowd trouble, penalties for the offending team include 0 points
from that game, a fine ranging from 120,000-180,000 euros as well as point deductions.
Olympiakos are expected to be awarded a 3-0 victory, which
would put them three points clear of their rivals before any
point deductions.