By Andrew Warshaw
March 29 – On the eve of a potentially pivotal visit by a joint FIFA/UEFA delegation, Greek authorities have stepped up the rhetoric in an attempt to avoid being thrown of international football.
FIFA and UEFA have urged Greece to reinstate its national cup competition, scrapped by the government earlier this month because of crowd trouble, or risk serious sanctions at both national and club level.
The cup competition was called off after the first leg of the semi-final between PAOK Salonika and Olympiakos on March 2 was abandoned due to a pitch invasion, with fans hurling flares and missiles before being dispersed by riot police.
New legislation would allow the government to impose fines ranging from €10,000 to €25 million for violent incidents, order the postponement or cancellation of sporting events and even prohibit teams from playing in European competition but the legislation would breach strict rules on government interference in football and the Greeks have been given until April 1 to comply or potentially have their country and clubs expelled.
Deputy Sports Minister Stavros Kontonis (pictured) says he is hoping sanctions can be avoided at a meeting with FIFA and UEFA officials scheduled for Wednesday.
“The situation is very unsettled and many people perceive that as a weakness,” Kontonis told a news conference. “What cannot be tinkered with further is a law which was already passed in parliament and is already being applied to the letter. For all themes, however, I want to hear suggestions and I believe that we’ll have a very smooth meeting.”
“We are fighting to get our decision validated. It was an entirely legal move and, as a measure, solves a serious problem, that of preserving public order.”
Greek football has been plagued by a raft of incidents on and off the field. Last week a meeting between the presidents of leading clubs including Olympiakos, PAOK, Panathinaikos and AEK Athens was called off. Panathinaikos refused to take part and Olympiakos owner Vangelis Marinakis was advised not to attend by the Athens sports prosecutor due to an ongoing investigation into match-fixing.
“We learnt at the last minute that he [Marinakis] is a citizen currently with restrictive conditions imposed on him by law but from our side we will move on and rearrange a new meeting,” said Kontonis. “We want a common agreement in place to stop the downward spiral of Greek football and the phenomenon of violence.”
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