By Chris Galakoutis
www.hellenicathletes.com
But it did. It's all about the petty rivalries between the greens and the
reds, and sometimes the yellows; or whoever else needs to get the crap kicked out of them that particular weekend. It's just
disgusting.
In 2006 there were at least three serious incidents in Greece. In February a group of firemen tending to their business at the Toumba stadium after seats were set ablaze were pelted with more
chairs, chunks of concrete and even mobile phones.
A week later, before an AEK Athens - Panathinaikos derby, a man was beaten up by a mob of the opposing team's
fans.
At Greek Cup final in Crete, AEK supporters trashed the return ferry and then hurled lumps of masonry at the police as they waited
dockside. And, more recently, Greek fans clashed among themselves and also pelted Turkish players with sticks, coins and plastic water bottles following Greece's 4-1 home loss to Turkey in a Euro 2008 Championship
qualifier. The violence is not limited to Greece. Earlier this year in Italy a policeman was killed in rioting at a match between Sicilian rivals Catania and
Palermo. That violence led to a week's suspension of all soccer in Italy's top three divisions and to the closure of stadiums. Last
month, the Greek government suspended play in all professional team sports for two weeks. The ban covered
football, basketball, volleyball and other sports.
But this behaviour has nothing to do with sport. It is a symptom of a serious, underlying issue in a society. And the powers that be need to wake up and smell the coffee. Or in this case the roses, lilies and carnations at the funeral of the deceased.
Man's ear bitten off in soccer brawl
And the violence is not limited to fans in or around the stadiums.
Four men have been arrested in Crete after part of a man's ear was bitten off during a brawl after Greece's 4-1 loss to Turkey in a European Championship qualifier in
March.
The incident occurred near the town of Ierapetra during a fight between Bulgarian workers and local Greek men who had been watching the match on
television, police said.
Local businessman Dimitris Tsimbibakis was hospitalized after a man bit his
ear. He told authorities he had intervened to try and break up the fight but was beaten by four Bulgarian men. The fight apparently started after the Bulgarian men cheered Turkey's goals.
In a country where tension from all corners bubbles to the surface like a poisonous venom, coupled with high unemployment amongst youth, it doesn't take much for tragedy to occur.
A 25-year-old man was killed in April in Athens after fights broke out between rival fans of Olympiakos and Panathinaikos before a women's volleyball match. Sports violence has, up until now, primarily marred Greek soccer. If the moronic hooligans needed further excuse to rampage, the sorry display on Greek football pitches week after week certainly provided it to them. But this was volleyball. It made no
sense.