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
OFFENSE SHINES: First baseman Pan Chie-kai hit a solo homer in the fifth inning as all 10 batters Taiwan used contributed at least one hit toward their team total of 14 One day after their first shutout loss at the WBSC Premier12, Taiwan yesterday bounced back with a commanding 8-2 victory over the US, keeping their hopes for a spot in tomorrow’s final alive. The win in the Super Round marked Taiwan’s first triumph over the US at a top-tier international baseball tournament since 2003. Their previous win over the US was at the 2003 Baseball World Cup, with only one win in the previous 10 matchups since 1999. Yesterday’s game was tightly contested through the first six innings, with the margin never exceeding two runs. However, the tide turned in the top of
“Please love us. Please cheer us on. We have been working hard. Do not give up on us.” Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien’s heartfelt plea echoed across the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s (WBSC) Premier12 tournament after a historic victory. Rather than boasting, Chen was making an earnest appeal after leading Taiwan to a 4-0 victory over Japan to claim their first major international baseball title at the senior level. Chen’s decisive three-run homer in the fifth inning and his Premier12 leading .632 batting average secured him the Premier12’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) title. He was also named one of the tournament’s outstanding defensive players
WELL-AGED: Although the youngest team in the tournament, Taiwan featured several veteran stars, including Sunday’s home-run hero Chen Chieh-hsien “I will never forget today,” veteran Taiwanese pitcher Chen Kuan-yu said after Taiwan on Sunday night blanked Japan to secure their first ever gold in the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s (WBSC) Premier12 championship. Chen, who at 34 is the oldest member on the team, said Taiwan “made every difficult step to come to today’s victory. I will never forget today.” Taiwan made history when they won their first gold medal of the Premier12 tournament, beating Japan in a 4-0 shutout victory in the final at the Tokyo Dome. It was a jaw-dropping victory for many baseball commentators who went into the game with
Nikola Jokic on Saturday scored 34 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to spark the Denver Nuggets over the Los Angeles Lakers 127-102, continuing their dominance of the NBA rivalry, while Scotty Pippen Jr scored a career-best 30 points to lead the Memphis Grizzlies past the Chicago Bulls, 142-131. The Nuggets won for the 13th time in the past 14 contests against the Lakers, including ousting the Lakers in the playoffs the past two seasons. Serbian star Jokic failed to achieve his sixth consecutive triple-double, managing only eight assists, but his effort was plenty as Michael Porter Jr added 24 points and 11
RSS