Greece will close a host of football fan clubs following fatal clashes in Athens between supporters of a local team and Croatia’s Dinamo Zagreb.
(Bloomberg) — Greece will close a host of football fan clubs following fatal clashes in Athens between supporters of a local team and Croatia’s Dinamo Zagreb.
“Each team will have a single fan club based at the official football club,” Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said after talks with the heads of Greece’s four top teams and Union of European Football Associations chief Aleksander Ceferin.
“I hope developments won’t require the state to activate the last measure at its disposal,” Mitsotakis said, referring to temporary bans of teams from European competition. Other action includes granting police additional powers to check groups of fans entering stadiums, as officers consider necessary, he said.
The steps are a reaction to the Aug. 7 death of a 29-year-old AEK Athens fan amid violence that led to 105 arrests. Of those, 102 are Croatians who’ve all been placed in custody. The detentions have been questioned by Croatia’s president, causing friction with Athens.
“Greece is a state of law,” Mitsotakis said. “It has rules, the judiciary is independent.”
Wednesday’s announcement comes just hours before Greece hosts the UEFA Super Cup showpiece between the UK’s Manchester City and Spain’s Sevilla. Police are taking extra precautions before and after the game.
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