In Greece, it’s the end of matches behind closed doors. After two months of meetings without an audience imposed by the authorities, football club supporters are returning to the stands. Initially, it was violence committed on the sidelines of a volleyball match in December, causing the death of a police officer, which led the Greek government to take the decision to empty the stadiums. Greece has been facing a problem of fan violence for several years, particularly in football.
2 mins
With our correspondent in Athens, Joel Bronner
On the way to the stadium, along the busy Alexandras Avenue, green jerseys and scarves in the colors of “Panatha”, as its public calls it, have flourished again after two months of absence. Here, the evening’s poster pits the Athenian club Panathinaikos against that of Lamia, the 2nd against the 6th in the Greek football championship, the “Superleague”.
Some supporters say they feel great joy at coming back to support their team, like this father holding his young son by the hand. “ We are super happy to come back to the stadium, he said, it’s great, really. »
Cameras in March
The two months of matches behind closed doors in Greece however, left him doubtful. “ I don’t think this measure helps combat violence. It’s a half measure in my opinion. Temporarily closing stadiums to the public does not change people’s mentality. In my opinion, the violence will continue. More drastic measures are needed. »
This other supporter, a plainclothes police officer who came to attend the match with his son, outbid: “ On the one hand, they made fun of us during these two months, since we lost part of our subscription money, and on the other hand there were no new security measures taken after the death of our young colleague. »
For the new measures, it will be in March with cameras in all stadiums then in April with identification via an application of all supporters present.