As a result of the tragic death of a Greek national in clashes with AEK Athens supporters earlier this month, Dinamo Zagreb fans will not have the privilege of attending the club's European away games this season, according to the governing body UEFA's announcement on Sunday.
Over 100 individuals, predominantly Croatian citizens, have faced charges concerning the confrontations that led to the unfortunate demise of 29-year-old AEK fan Michalis Katsouris, who was fatally stabbed in Athens on August 8th.
These incidents occurred ahead of a Champions League qualifier between the two teams.
During this past week, UEFA President Alexander Ceferin held discussions with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Athens, where he passionately called upon European soccer to eradicate the scourge of hooliganism, likening it to cancer.
Having already taken measures to ban both sets of fans from attending either leg of the qualifier, UEFA has now categorically labelled all matches involving Dinamo supporters as "high risk". The governing body expressed concern over the severity of the incidents that occurred due to the presence of GNK Dinamo supporters in Athens, despite the prior decision to deny them tickets for the specified match.
Furthermore, UEFA emphasized that Dinamo needs to devise and implement a comprehensive strategy to eliminate instances of football-related violence connected to the club.
In the competitive realm, AEK emerged victorious over Dinamo with a 4-3 aggregate score, securing their position to face Antwerp in the final play-off round. Meanwhile, Dinamo's European journey will persist in the Europa League playoff round.
