Superleague Greece on Tuesday opposed the suspension of all football fixtures "over crowd trouble," saying that it "threatened the clubs’ very existence," according to Karolos Grohmann of REUTERS. Greece "indefinitely suspended matches" after PAOK Thessaloniki Owner Ivan Savvidis was "filmed wearing a gun holster as he strode onto the pitch to protest about a disallowed goal against AEK Athens on Sunday." Superleague President Giorgos Stratos said, "The suspension does not bring anything. It creates a grave danger and we are possibly moving away from our aims and objectives. The suspension does not benefit anyone or anything." Stratos said that he asked for the "quickest possible resumption" of matches but no date had been decided (REUTERS, 3/13).
'EMOTIONAL REACTION': The AP reported a Thessaloniki prosecutor ordered a judicial investigation into the incident. Savvidis apologized Tuesday for what he called an "emotional reaction" to the referee's decision and "the general negative condition in Greek soccer." The probe, issued by a prosecutor on duty at Sunday's game against AEK Athens, will also investigate "why police allegedly ignored instructions" to arrest Savvidis on the spot. Savvidis entered the field "accompanied by bodyguards, apparently carrying a pistol in a waist holster." He made "no visible move to use the weapon, for which he has a license" (AP, 3/13). The London GUARDIAN reported Savvidis said, "I am deeply sorry for what happened. I had absolutely no right to enter the pitch the way I did. My emotional reaction stems from the widespread negative situations prevailing in Greek football lately and from all the unacceptable, non sports-related events that took place towards the end of the PAOK-AEK Athens encounter. ... My only aim was to protect tens of thousands of PAOK fans from provocation, riots and casualties" (GUARDIAN, 3/13).
UNDER PRESSURE: In Athens, George Georgakopoulos reported Hellenic Football Federation President Vangelis Grammenos is reportedly "considering" resigning in the aftermath of the abandoned game. Live Sport reported Grammenos is "in a bad psychological situation under pressure from developments in the Super League and is about to tender his resignation." Other sources said that "he will not resign now, but may do so later, once the pending court cases on various Super League incidents are completed" (EKATHIMERINI, 3/13).
