Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced that fan associations of organised team supporters would be closed and replaced with official associations that will operate at each club's headquarters.
He made the statements on Wednesday after the conclusion of a broad meeting at the Maximos Mansion with the participation of UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin, ministers and the owners of the football clubs Olympiacos, Panathinaikos, AEK and PAOK,
He said that police are taking control of the gates of organised fans "who have created a problem for us", adding that the gates in question will be closed if necessary.
The prime minister warned that the teams are also excluded from the European competitions as a last measure. However, he expressed hope that circumstances would not lead to that decision.
Government sources told Proto Thema that the discussion that preceded the Maximos Hall with the four clubs was "honest and constructive", stressing that "it is of particular importance that there was an exchange of views in front of the UEFA president".
At the same time, they reminded that with Mitsotakis' references to the closing of clubs and the use of cameras, clubs are facing their responsibilities as these measures are provided for by the Avgenakis law, which was drawn up after the murder of Aris fan Alkis Kampanos by PAOK hooligans.
The same sources clarified, finally, that the police checks at the gates of organised fans who create problems "will be sampled".
See the statements made:
All 105 hooligans who were arrested over the deadly incidents ahead of the AEK-Dinamo Zagreb football match at Nea Philadelphia stadium in Athens on August 7 were remanded in custody after the last group of 33 defendants appeared before prosecutors on Sunday.
The vast majority are Croatian nationals, who travelled to Athens with the aim to cause violence, as the Croatian President himself admitted in statements made on Saturday.
Two Greeks and one Albanian are also among the detained.
Hooligans jailed in 16 prisons across Greece
The first prison warrants were issued for 41 of them, who will be jailed in 16 different prisons in Greece pending trial for their alleged involvement in the attack which resulted in the murder of Greek AEK football fan Michalis Katsouris.
The charges faced by the defendants range from setting up a criminal organization and premeditated murder to illegal possession and use of weapons, AMNA notes.
Of the total detained, 103 were arrested shortly after the incident, while the 104th was hospitalized under police guard and the 105th was arrested days later as he tried to leave Greece on a bus.
Greek media are reporting that Hellenic Police have the moment of victim Katsouris’ stabbing captured on CCTV, which will help investigators identify the killer(s).
Greek Judges and Prosecutors reply to Croatian President’s remarks
The Greek Association of Judges and Prosecutors issued a statement in response to the remarks made on Saturday by the President of Croatia, Zoran Milanovic, about the Croatian defendants’ judicial treatment.
“The statements of the President of Croatia constitute a direct intervention in the work of Justice of a member state of the European Union and an insult to the institutions of our country,” the Association says.
“The protection of fundamental legal interests, such as those of life, physical integrity and health and social peace is a primary obligation of a State, which ensures the orderly functioning of societies and the European acquis,” the statement continues.
“The Hellenic Republic has a tradition of respecting human rights and the Judiciary applies the laws of the organized Greek State which have been established within the framework of the Constitution and the Law of the European Union,” it concludes.
Brutal attack outside stadium
According to Greek media reports, a well-coordinated group of around 150 to 200 Dinamo supporters managed to enter Greece by road on Monday, August 7, despite the prohibition on fan movement from Croatia.
They descended on the area around the stadium of AEK, in the Athens suburb of Nea Philadelphia, on the night before the UEFA Champions League qualifier between AEK Athens and GNK Dinamo Zagreb.
“They had wild moods…They hit everywhere, whatever they could find. The event lasted half an hour…they had clubs, they were organized,” one of the eyewitnesses told Greek channel OPEN TV.
Besides the 29-year-old victim who succumbed to stab wounds, 10 more people were injured in the attack, four of whom remained in hospital.
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