Soccer fans brawl before stadium - Shot falls
Amidst brutal heat in Athens, rival fan groups of Panathinaikos Athens clash. Three people reportedly injured according to state broadcasting.
Rival fan groups of Greek traditional club Panathinaikos Athens engaged in a brawl before the football stadium of the club in the center of Athens. According to reports from Greek broadcasting (ERT), at least three people were injured, one by a gunshot. As reported by dpa from police circles, over 70 fans were taken into custody. The cause of the brawl on Saturday remains unclear. It is believed that only Panathinaikos supporters were involved.
On Saturday evening, Panathinaikos welcomed the Cypriot team AEK Larnaca for a preparatory match at Apostolos-Nikolaidis Stadium. The referee officiated the game despite the previous disturbances. Due to temperatures close to 40 degrees in Athens, only approximately 500 fans attended the match. Greek football has been plagued by disturbances for years. In the previous year, three fans had lost their lives due to severe disturbances.
Basketball fans caused chaos
In May, fans of Panathinaikos basketball department were involved in violent brawls in Berlin. During a melee before the Euroleague final, a person was critically injured.
According to police, around 10:45 pm, approximately 60 people clashed violently at the S-Bahnhof Prenzlauer Allee. Fans of the basketball teams from Athens and Piraeus were involved. Panathinaikos faced Real Madrid in the final, while Olympiakos Piraeus played against Fenerbahce Istanbul for third place. Trouble had already occurred at the arena at Ostbahnhof before the semifinals. Two policemen were lightly injured.
During the altercation, baseball bats and batons were used, and several people were injured, a police spokesperson stated in the night. The number of injured was initially unclear. There were 89 provisional arrests for identification purposes and various criminal complaints for bodily harm and grievous bodily harm.
Despite the previous incident of violent brawls involving Panathinaikos basketball fans in Berlin, the Athen police remained vigilant during the soccer match in Greece. Regrettably, a criminal act marred the event, as a report surfaced of a gunshot injury to one spectator during the clash between Panathinaikos Athens and rival fan groups.
