Deputy Minister of Sports Stavros Kondonis announced after his meeting yesterday with Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras in parliament the decision to suspend the Greek Super League football championship. As reported, the decision will apply neither to the Football League Championship, nor to amateur championships. A meeting with football representatives will take place next Wednesday to reconsider the situation.
Stavros Kondonis wants the Super League to take steps towards implementing the law on electronic tickets and transforming fan organizations into clubs.
However, the time for the implementation of these steps is obviously not enough, i.e. in fact, the requirements should be alleviated.
In announcing the decision, the Deputy Minister of Sports said, "The government's decision to end violence in stadiums is final and not subject to change. The decision of the Prime Minister and the government to curtail such phenomena that offend our culture and us all is final. We appeal to all those engaged in sports: the government will not take even a step back from what it has announced as its intentions. We will no longer tolerate business interests in sports, which have developed in an unacceptable way in recent years, because they turn against sports fans and professionals. Everything that has happened in recent weeks, and especially the events during the derby between Olympiakos and Panathinaikos on Sunday, when, miraculously, there were no victims, and what happened during the meeting of the organizer’s board, illustrate a gloomy picture. Anyone who loves sports and football can understand what it means to see leading figures quarrelling and attacking each other. From this perspective, it is impossible for matches to be played on Sunday. I have stressed before the organizers that they must apply the law and what it provides for fan clubs and electronic ticketing."
Panathinaikos Vice President Vassilis Konstandinou, who was hit during the board meeting of the Super League
Furthermore, Stavros Kondonis stressed, "I do not believe in "self-clearing" when it is combined with human activities aimed at profiting, because we are talking about joint-stock companies. We must all show respect for the law and those who have so far ignored both the law and the people’s request to "clear" football must adapt and understand that tolerance on the part of the Greek people is exhausted."
The Deputy Minister of Sports announced his intentions at an earlier meeting with Deputy President of the Hellenic Football Federation Vangelis Topoliatis and presidents of Super League George Borovilos and Football League Spiros Kaloianis.
Reactions
The football representatives accepted the decision to suspend the championship with no significant reactions. They were initially aware that it would be suspended for an "indefinite" period but later it became clear that the decision would be in force for at least one round and would apply only to the Super League. Its president George Borovilos however said, "No fan believes that a temporary suspension of the championship will solve the problem of violence in stadiums."
Meanwhile, the Greek Communist Party (KKE) asked in a message, "What else do we have to see before we understand that we have to put an end to the sports-business, to the football of big businessmen?" Former Deputy Minister of Sports Ioannis Andrianos insisted on using the bill in the field of sports, which was tabled during his term.
The decision to suspend the football championship in Greece, which is the result of recent cases of violence in stadiums, has had significant repercussions in the most popular media across Europe.
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