Greek probes into soccer hooliganism find links to drugs, extortion and arson
Police launched probes into the hooliganism that killed George Lyngeridis and that had moved beyond soccer stadiums, but also into links between some violent fans and criminal gangs.
These links, they believed, were ramping up the aggression.
While the vast majority of sports fans in Greece are peaceful, evidence collected by police and seen by Reuters alleges hardcore fans, who follow their clubs across different sports, were involved in smuggling drugs, or linked to gangs extorting protection money from businesses and arson.
"[The gangs] used sports as an alibi," Sports Minister Yiannis Vroutsis told Reuters. "They used clubs as a cover for their illegal acts."
Police have made dozens of arrests, with the latest coming on Monday.
The fan groups' hierarchies and discipline "offered the conditions for criminal organisations to thrive within them," Supreme Court Prosecutor Georgia Adilini has said. Police officials told Reuters gangs can emerge within fan groups or infiltrate them to sell drugs, or seek new recruits.
On December 7, 2023, some fans of Olympiacos soccer club moved a bag of flares and makeshift explosives from a storage room at their soccer stadium to the venue for a women's volleyball derby against Panathinaikos, a police probe found.
"We'll kill you!" the crowd shouted, according to prosecutors, during an attack on police that led to the fatal injury of Lyngeridis, who was hit by a flare.
Last month, a Greek court convicted a 20-year-old Olympiacos fan of manslaughter and gave him a life sentence.
Lyngeridis' mother Evgenia Stratou said her policeman son never expected to be in such danger. "That day, it wasn't that simple. They were organised, coordinated."
FANS CHARGED
In a separate investigation, dozens of Olympiacos fans have been charged with setting up a gang, extorting street vendors, possessing weapons and orchestrating assaults. They have denied wrongdoing, their defence lawyers have said.
The soccer team's official fan club Gate 7 has condemned the attack and said it has never incited violence.
The investigation extended to the top echelons of the club and Evangelos Marinakis, chairman of Olympiacos soccer club, is set to stand trial in the coming months with four board members.
They face misdemeanour charges related to inciting sports-related violence and of abetting a criminal group.
Marinakis and the other board members deny any wrongdoing or knowledge of criminal activity. Marinakis' lawyers declined to comment to Reuters on the case for this article but have called the accusations completely baseless in the past. Olympiacos has said it takes an unwavering stance against all violence.
Gate 7 member Akis Vardalakis, 58, called the case a government witch hunt. But he noted a rise in aggression around sport. "Sports fandom is a mirror of society," he said.
EXTORTION, DRUGS
In July 2024, police dismantled a ring extorting protection money from at least 76 Athens restaurants and night-clubs. The gang was also hired by Panathinaikos fans to attack fellow team fans in a war for control, police allege in the documents.
Panathinaikos' only legal fan club PALEFIP condemns all violence and vets new members, its president Gerasimos Menegatos said. PALEFIP could not comment on the extortion, he added.
In December 2024, police dismantled a gang that imported cocaine and cannabis from Spain. Among core members were allegedly fans of soccer team AEK, previously involved in violence and robberies, the documents stated.
In 2020-2021 alone, the group imported about 1.4 tonnes of cannabis and 30 kilograms of cocaine. Their estimated profits topped 7 million euros ($8.07 million).
George Katsadimas, a legal representative for AEK's fan club, said the case did not concern the fan club but a few individuals who also support the team. The legal fan club condemns any form of violence and its members are not involved in any illegal activity, he said.
Last month, police arrested 24 people, allegedly fans of soccer team PAOK in the northern city of Thessaloniki, accused of selling drugs at matches.
"The alleged criminal group, which included some random PAOK supporters but also individuals who were not related to sports, has no link at all to the PAOK soccer team or its fan club," said lawyer Ilias Gkindis, who represents the fan club.
Those in the legal fan club have nothing to do with illegal acts. "They are people who passionately love sports and believe that criminal activity, particularly drug-related, has no place in the fan club or in sports fandom," he added.
Greece's judicial system has several preparatory stages and the compilation of charges does not necessarily mean an individual will face trial.
LEGACY OF DEBT CRISIS
Older fans said they noticed a rise in aggression since the 2009-2018 debt crisis, that left a young generation without work and with little prospects.
"Sports fandom has always been a hybrid space," said Anastassia Tsoukala, a security and sports violence analyst and former associate professor of criminology.
A young person can develop other affiliations within a group of fans, and may be pushed into crime in the desire to belong more deeply to a group, climb its hierarchy and make a living, she said.
Greece in recent years cut the number of legal fan groups from dozens to just eight, increased stadium security and toughened penalties for clubs and sentences for hooliganism.
Since February 2024, some 96 soccer matches have been played behind closed doors and authorities imposed fines worth about 1 million euros on clubs, according to government sources.
Police monitor around 300 "high-risk" hardcore fans in each major club, a police source said.
Vroutsis said reforms have been successful, while analysts argue brawls have merely shifted beyond the soccer stadiums. Police data shows 700 cases of sports-related crime annually. Critics and victims of the violence say more needs to be done.
"Unlike other European countries, in Greece we have never adopted primary prevention. We have never looked at the profile of perpetrators to reduce that type of criminality in the long term. We are only focused on repression," said Tsoukala.
Among those campaigning for change is Aristidis Kampanos, who went into politics after his son Alkis was stabbed to death in August 2023 in Thessaloniki. He was one of three people killed in sports-linked violence in 2022-2023.
"The clean-up I want is not just a job for the state. We must all participate, including club presidents and fan clubs."
Sport must be put back in the hands "of families, pure fans, and those who truly love soccer," he said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNA
4 days ago
- CNA
Mexican Federation fines Chicharito following sexist remarks
MEXICO CITY :The Mexican Football Federation (FMF) has fined Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez and launched an investigation after the former Manchester United striker posted social media videos that football authorities said "promote sexist stereotypes". In a joint statement released on Wednesday by FMF along with Mexico's top men's and women's leagues - Liga MX and Liga MX Femenil - officials said Hernandez's remarks were in violation of their gender and diversity policies and constituted a form of media violence. A representative for the Chivas Guadalajara player did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. FMF has imposed a financial fine and issued a warning, and more severe sanctions could follow if Hernandez repeats such behaviour. "A few days ago on the social media platform 'TikTok', Hernandez made statements that promote sexist stereotypes that are considered media violence and go against gender equality in sport," the football bodies said in the statement. "The Gender and Diversity Commission announces that it has initiated an investigation that seeks to prevent and punish this behaviour, determining to impose a financial penalty and a warning on Javier 'El Chicharito' Hernandez, stating that this Commission will take more severe measures in the event of a repeat offence." Hernandez, 37, posted videos over the weekend in which he called on women to "let themselves be guided by a man" and accused women of "eradicating masculinity". The high-profile athlete also said society had become "hypersensitive" and questioned feminist views on domestic roles. The remarks were widely criticised as sexist and out of touch with contemporary society, prompting condemnation from fans and public figures including President Claudia Sheinbaum. "He's a very good footballer, but in terms of his opinion about women, I think he still has a lot to learn, because women can be whatever we want to be," Sheinbaum said in her daily news conference on Wednesday. Hernandez, Mexico's all-time leading scorer, rejoined boyhood club Chivas in January 2024 after playing for LA Galaxy and several top European teams, including Manchester United, West Ham United, Real Madrid and Sevilla. Chivas also condemned his remarks. "The club has taken the appropriate measures in accordance with its internal regulations," the Liga MX side said. "As an institution with a deep sense of social responsibility, we firmly reject any behaviour, stance or expression that reinforces stereotypes that limit the freedom, respect and full development of all people."
CNA
4 days ago
- CNA
French FA calls for online abuse investigation after Women's Euro exit
GENEVA :French football's governing body has called for an investigation into hateful comments made online following the national team's exit from the Women's Euros after a penalty shootout loss to Germany in the quarter-finals. "The French Football Federation strongly condemns the hateful remarks made about certain players of the French team. Nothing can justify such manifestations of hatred," the governing body said in a statement on Wednesday. "The FFF expresses its full support to all the players concerned and re-asserts its commitment to the values of respect and solidarity, which are the basis of our sport. "The FFF has decided to immediately contact the National Center Against Online Hatred to allow for the opening of an investigation aimed at sanctioning criminal behaviour." The FFF's call for action comes in the wake of England defender Jess Carter's withdrawal from social media over racial abuse she received online. France goalkeeper Pauline Peyeaud-Magnin posted about the abuse received by her teammates on Instagram. "There's one thing even harder to accept than defeat: hatred," she wrote. "We can be frustrated, we can be sad, we can even be angry. But hatred should never, ever have a place in this sport.
CNA
5 days ago
- CNA
War on hidden motors goes undercover
BOLLENE, France :The International Cycling Union (UCI) has intensified its fight against mechanical doping, employing intelligence-driven methods to combat increasingly sophisticated alleged cheating in professional cycling. Once, inspectors relied on random X-rays and magnetic scans to catch offenders. Now, the UCI is borrowing tactics from law enforcement – building confidential sources, mapping risk profiles and monitoring bike changes in real time – to stay ahead in what officials call a technological arms race. Mechanical doping – riders using concealed motors – first gained attention in 2010 and led to the six-year ban of Belgium's Femke Van Den Driessche after a bluetooth-controlled motor was discovered in her seat tube at a cyclo-cross event. Since then, the UCI has expanded its detection arsenal, now employing daily checks of up to 60 bikes during the Tour de France. All bikes have passed the checks since the Tour started in Lille on July 5. "We have the ability... to go further with our examinations, whether that's a partial dismantlement of the bike to look into certain components, act upon suspicions, act upon information that we have," Nick Raudenski, the UCI Head of the Fight Against Technological Fraud, told Reuters on Wednesday. Raudenski, a former criminal investigator with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, took over in May last year and immediately pushed for a new approach. "Bike controls, it's something that I've always equated anytime that I've done speeches or done training, it's like throwing your hook out in the middle of a lake trying to catch fish," he said. "If you don't have a strategy, if you're not informed about how to catch fish, what time of day, what kind of fish, where you can catch fish." THINK LIKE A FRAUDSTER Part of that strategy is to think like the cheats. "My idea is to put myself in the shoes of a fraudster. How would I do this and how would I get away with it? And that's part of my background as a criminal investigator, to try to think about not what we know, but what we don't know," he said. The challenge is relentless innovation. "It's a bit of a technological arms race. Components are getting lighter, smaller. Easier to conceal, which is harder to detect," Raudenski said. "And so, trying to stay ahead of what's potentially possible is always a challenge." For Raudenski, the mission is clear: keep fans believing in the sport. "People still need to believe, at least from the technological fraud side, that they're not climbing a stage like yesterday, and people just immediately think, 'oh, well, they must be on a motor'," he said. "Knowing that our processes are in place, that we're conducting the controls that we're doing, that there is that insurance that the enforcement controls that we have in place, that doesn't happen at this level."
