Croatian football fans appear in court in Greece after fatal stabbing
A 29-year-old Greek man was stabbed to death during violence that erupted outside AEK Athens' stadium on August 8. Greek police rounded up the Croatian suspects, supporters of Dinamo Zagreb.
Football fans, most of them from Croatia, cover their faces while leaving the Athens Police Headquarters in Athens, as they are being detained as part of the inquiry on the death of a Greek fan during violent clashes on August 9, 2023. / Photo: AFP
More than 90 arrested Croatian football fans were led in handcuffs to appear before an investigative magistrate in Greece for their alleged involvement in deadly football fan violence, as police set up highway roadblocks and additional border checks to search for more suspects.
The youths – many with their shirts pulled over their heads to hide their identity – appeared in court a day after a 29-year-old Greek fan was stabbed to death outside AEK Athens’ stadium, prompting the cancellation of a Champions League qualifier against Dinamo Zagreb.
Amateur video of the attack showed dozens of youths wielding bats and iron bars running past the stadium, as flares and petrol bombs exploded. Ten people were injured and four remain hospitalised.
Police in Greece earlier arrested six Croatian nationals as they attempted to flee the country. Five of the suspects were detained in the northwestern port of Igoumenitsa as they prepared to board a ferry bound for Italy, while the sixth was arrested on a bus bound for Albania. police said.
More violence was feared later Wednesday as Athens club Panathinaikos faces Marseille in a Champions League qualifier, which was set to go ahead under strict security measures at Leoforos Stadium in the centre of the Greek capital.
Candles and flowers lie, on the location where a 29-year-old Greek football fan has died after overnight clashes between rival supporters in Nea Philadelphia suburb, in Athens, Greece, Aug. 8, 2023.
'Tragic errors'
Police were preparing a cordon around the stadium and set up patrols at nearby intersections and subway stations. The vice president of the European Commission, Greek politician Margaritis Schinas, condemned “the horrible violence” that occurred at AEK’s stadium.
“(There is) no place for violence and hooliganism in European football,” he wrote in an online post, adding that he had contacted the head of European football's governing body, UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin, to discuss the incident.
The Greek capital will also host the European Super Cup next week between Manchester City and Sevilla.
Greek Public Order Minister Giannis Oikonomou said the police had made “tragic errors” in failing to stop the traveling Croatian supporters and failing to act on information that clashes were likely.
He has dismissed calls from opposition parties to resign and suspended seven police officers, including several in senior positions, pending an investigation and their reassignment or dismissal.
Disappointment
Outside AEK’s Opap Arena, fans set up tributes to the supporter who was killed — identified by family members as Michalis Katsouris from a town near Athens — leaving flowers and candles at the site where he died of a stab wound.
AEK says it has called on European football’s governing body, UEFA, to impose “immediate and severe punishment” on Dinamo Zagreb, expressing disappointment that the qualifier will go ahead in Zagreb later this month.
“The question that torments our fans is one that we described from the outset and that also torments us: How is it possible that following the brutal murder of Michalis by a gang of vicious criminals from Croatia, for AEK Athens to enter the field and play against this team?” AEK said.
“Will any of his killers be in the stands?”
The Croatian government and Dinamo have both strongly condemned that attacks in Athens. But the Zagreb club defended its actions, insisting it has fully cooperated with authorities, and rejected calls from AEK for its expulsion from European competitions.
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