![]() The arrested man was expected to testify before a public prosecutor on Thursday, the semi-state Athens News Agency reported on Monday. More than 400 people had been briefly detained over Thursday's incident which Greek police said was a "murderous attack" of hooligans on riot police, including the officer who remains in hospital in critical condition.Įvidence collected helped police track down a 18-year-old man who confessed to joining the group which attacked the police and to throwing the flare which injured the officer, a police official told Reuters on condition of anonymity. In Greece, fights between football fans and clubs are frequent on and off the pitch before or after a game and the government has been trying to reform soccer. The announcement followed the critical injuring of a 31-year-old police officer by a flare in violent clashes that broke out on Thursday, during a volleyball match hosted by Olympiacos in Piraeus. Marinakis said the measure might also apply to some European fixtures at home and could be extended beyond February, if top league soccer teams fail by that date to take action, such as installing cameras and systems of electronic identification for their fans at the stadiums. The volleyball match was between local teams Olympiacos and Panathinaikos who are both owned by the soccer sides of the same name. ![]() Greece must play all its top league soccer matches without fans for the next two months following the severe injuring of a police officer in violence during a volleyball match in Athens last week, its government said on Monday.Īll Super League 1 matches will be played behind closed doors until mid February government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis told a weekly briefing on Monday. The federation also pointed the blame at what it called “irresponsible statements” from club presidents, managers, coaches and even pundits directed towards referees, arguing they “paved the way for this vile attack” and adding that all those responsible at Ankaragucu would face punishment. Let’s not disgrace Turkish football internationally, enough is enough!” Do not devalue Turkish football any further. “We postponed all matches indefinitely – we say enough!” Buyukeksi said, according to the broadsheet Milliyet. The head of the Turkish football federation, Mehmet Buyukeksi, despaired at the consequences of the incident after an emergency meeting. Referees, players, fans and staff have to be safe and secure to enjoy the game, and I call on the relevant authorities to ensure that this is strictly implemented and respected at all levels.” We will never allow violence to take place in Turkish sports.”įifa’s president, Gianni Infantino, also condemned the attack, saying “without match officials there is no football. ![]() The widespread domestic outcry about violence directed at referees even drew the intervention of Erdoğan, a former footballer with an enduring interest in the sport and whose family hails from the Black Sea town of Rize, where Rizespor are based.Įrdoğan used X to denounce the attack, saying that “sports means peace and brotherhood. The incident prompted the indefinite suspension of all domestic Turkish football matches amid concerns about damage to its international image. Photograph: Turkish Ministry of Youth and Sports Press Office/AFP/Getty Turkey’s minister of youth and sports Osman Askin Bak (centre right) visits the referee Halil Umut Meler. The Turkish daily Cumhuriyet reported that Koca along with two other suspects had been taken to Sincan prison outside Ankara. Anyone, including staff or fans who entered the pitch, had violated a law that bans violence and disorder in sports, he said. ![]() The justice minister, Yılmaz Tunc, said Koca had been arrested and questioned along with two others, after video showed them rushing on to the pitch. Turkey’s interior minister, Ali Yerlikaya, said on X that Koca, a former member of parliament who represented an Ankara district for almost a decade withErdoğan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP), was receiving treatment “under the supervision of our security forces”. Koca later announced his resignation as president via Ankaragucu’s website. Meler was taken to the referee’s room under heavy security, and Anadolu reported that Koca “felt faint after his violent action on the field”, and both were admitted to hospital in the Turkish capital. According to the state-run news agency, Anadolu, “Ankaragucu fans supported Koca and cheered”. Photos show Meler curled in the foetal position on the grass with his arms over his head to protect himself as a brawl involving a dozen people erupted around him, while players and staff attempted to restrain Koca. ![]()
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