Some say the legendary exploits of Alexander the Great are needed to cure Greek soccer of its violence and disorder. Others are hoping for a Herculean effort to fix the problem.
Short of that, Greek soccer remains mired in chaos.
The latest trouble occurred over the weekend, when the owner of PAOK ran onto the field with a holstered gun on his belt to confront the referee and complain about a disallowed goal.
Ivan Savvidis, the Russian-Greek businessman who owns PAOK, did not use the gun on Sunday, but his actions led to yet another league suspension and prompted Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to evoke a famous legend about the conquests of Alexander the Great.
“At some point, we have to decide to cut the Gordian Knot, take collective action and ignore the political consequences,” Tsipras said, referring to a simple solution for an intractable problem.
In the meantime, the government decided to indefinitely stop league matches following Sunday’s turmoil.
Savvidis on Tuesday apologized for his “emotional” reaction, while a Thessaloniki prosecutor ordered a judicial investigation into the incident.
The probe is also to examine why police allegedly ignored instructions from a prosecutor on duty at the match to arrest Savvidis on the spot.
FIFA strongly condemned the violence and sent a delegation to Athens for talks as the nation faced the threat of suspension from international competition.
The league suspension is the latest attempt by a government to rein in Greek soccer’s powerful bosses, who have far-reaching interests in infrastructure, shipping, gambling and the news media, and who operate against a backdrop of habitual fan violence and allegations of corruption riddled through the sport.
This week’s suspension was ordered 10 days after a court convicted 58 club officials, managers, players and others for up to 10 years in prison for a match-fixing scandal — including former officials from the league and the Greek soccer association.
Most of the sentences were suspended.
Tsipras’ government has twice before weighed in with violence-related suspensions, briefly stopping the league and cup competitions. Each high-profile outbreak of violence has rekindled plans for tougher surveillance, “smart” ticketing and imposing tougher limits on traveling fans, as well as seeking assistance from abroad to monitor referees and match organization.
However, fans and club bosses have continued to make the action look weak.
Last month, supporters from a pair of rival Athens clubs chose a volleyball match for their most recent confrontation. Clashes spilled onto a street in a central neighborhood and young people hurled gasoline bombs and flares.
Tension this season has been fueled by the league’s unpredictable outcome following a weak start by Olympiakos, who have lost the championship only twice in the past 21 years.
The challenge is being led by AEK, who have returned to the top league from bankruptcy, and northern club PAOK, who have not won since 1984-1985, but whose fans are famously loyal and hot-headed.
Dimitrios Malisiovas, a veteran sports commentator for public radio, said there is a general feeling of disappointment and sadness that the effort to clean up Greek soccer does not appear to be working.
“Since professional soccer started in 1979, the problem has always been there. Violence and corruption,” Malisiovas said. “It’s a bit like the Greek national debt: Too hard to pay down, or like Hercules in ancient mythology trying to cut the head off the monster, only to see another appear, but that’s what we need to fix this problem: another Hercules. Someone who is fearless and determined.”
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
HSIEH MAKES QUARTERS: Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens of Belgium won in the women’s doubles and face Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sofia Kenin of the US Top-ranked Iga Swiatek and US Open champion Coco Gauff were knocked out of the women’s singles at the Miami Open on Monday, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced in the women’s doubles. Swiatek lost to Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-2, hours after third seed Gauff fell in three sets to No. 23 Caroline Garcia 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. Alexandrova beat a top-ranked player for the first time and advanced to face Jessica Pegula, a 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 winner over Emma Navarro, in the quarter-finals. Alexandrova recorded her second win over Swiatek, following a 2021 victory in Melbourne. Swiatek had won their three matches since. “We played quite