PAE OLYMPIAKOS unfailingly maintains a firm stance against any form of violence, which it confirms with actions, not words

“PAE OLYMPIAKOS unfailingly maintains a firm stance against any form of violence, which it confirms with actions, not words.

In this context, any initiative aimed at eliminating any extreme behavior from the stadiums is welcome and we hope it will be effective. But for this to happen, this initiative should be sufficiently justified and governed by seriousness.

After the recent tragic event and the injury of the unfortunate Policeman, for whom we hope that he will emerge victorious in the critical battle that everyone is fighting in the Olympiakos family, some measures were announced (once again…) by the Greek Government to deal with the phenomena fan violence.

On the occasion of the relevant Act of Legislative Content and the KYA issued by the Ministers of Citizen Protection Mr. Economou, Deputy Minister of Citizen Protection Mr. Katsafados and Mr. Vroutsis, by which the entry of our fans as well as those of the host team is prohibited of the FK Backa Topola team at the Karaiskakis stadium in tomorrow’s match for the Europa League, and due to the repeated questions we receive from our fans as well as UEFA regarding the conditions for holding the match, we publicly request the Greek Government and the relevant Ministers, Mr. K. Vroutsis, Economou and Katsafado, a clear answer to the following questions:

1. PAE OLYMPIAKOS has not been punished by UEFA nor by any disciplinary body for holding the specific match without fans. Despite all this, it will be the first time in the history of the European Cups that a team will compete in a European match without fans with an Act of Legislative Content and a Ministerial Decision of Mr. Economou (Minister of Citizen Protection), Katsafados (Deputy Minister of Citizen Protection) and Vroutsis (Deputy Minister of Sports).

Since no sane person involved in football and none of the UEFA officials with whom we are talking about the conduct of the match understands the logic behind this decision, please explain publicly the reasoning behind it so that it can be understood by anyone. Silence cannot be taken as an answer but as an admission of lack of any explanation.

2. Apart from the fans of Olympiakos who without any explanation are obliged to stay outside the field, the visiting team of Backa Topola has for several days now procured tickets which it has made available to its fans to travel to Greece. Some of these fans are in our country. These people have spent enough money to watch the game and suddenly no one can explain to them why they will be left out of the field. Who will compensate these people and by what process?

3. At the same time as our match, a few kilometers away from the Karaiskaki stadium, the match between Panathinaikos and Maccabi Haifa is taking place as normal and with the presence of fans. It will normally be attended by the fans of the Israeli team. In other words, the fans of Panathinaikos and the fans who have come to Greece from a warring country can watch their team’s match normally without being considered to be in danger from anything and for any reason, while the fans of our team and those who have come from Serbia cannot enter the field.

Is there any explanation for the photographic targeting of the OLYMPIACOS football team since the unfortunate episode happened in another stadium and in another sport!?

Is there an explanation why Greek citizens cannot attend a European football match of their team because they are fans of the OLYMPIACOS football team? But they are the same fans in all sports!

Does the Government treat Olympic fans as citizens with limited rights?

4. Yesterday at the “Melina Merkouri” indoor stadium, a few meters from the place where the horrific incident took place with the injury of the unfortunate police officer that caused the Government’s measures, a volleyball match of the Olympiakos team was held as part of the Men’s Champions League. The match took place normally with the presence of hundreds of fans of our team. Next Friday 15.12.2023, the match between Olympiakos and Valencia for the Euroleague will be held (next to the closed Karaiskaki stadium tomorrow), with the presence of thousands of fans of our team.

However, the football match will be played without fans!!! The same people who went to “Melina Merkouri” yesterday and will go to SEF the day after tomorrow for the Greek Government are dangerous if they find themselves at the Karaiskaki stadium tomorrow, as if depending on the sport they watch they have different characteristics.

Both we as PAE OLYMPIACOS and the thousands of our fans who are excluded from our team’s match, ask to know who is making the distinction and by what criteria?

5. Government decisions allow up to ten (10) representatives of each team (Management Members or Managers) to enter the stands of the stadium. However, you do not mention at all what will happen to the commercial areas (suites, restaurants) that have no contact with the stands of the stadium. What will happen to these spaces? What will the people who have leased out the stadium suites and use them even for business purposes do? Are they allowed access yes or no? Has anyone from the Government thought about the people who work in these places who will lose their daily wages without anyone being able to explain to them why? Is there an answer to this? Only in totalitarian regimes are workers forbidden to do their work, businesses to close without reason!

Both we and all our sports fans – citizens of this country who without any explanation at all are the object of discriminatory treatment, expect those who made the relevant decisions, the Prime Minister and the relevant Ministers, to justify and explain them.

PAE OLYMPIAKOS as a whole will consider every legal means to protect our fans and our team from these decisions.

The only ones from whom we do not expect any explanation are the Piraeus MPs, who remain deafeningly silent. Let them not bother in the future to associate their name with Olympiakos: their attitude will be considered – and will be – hypocritical. Especially the Deputy Minister Mr. Katsafados, who is elected by Piraeus every day with his statements and actions, exposes and insults the world of OLYMPIAKOS.

We invite you to immediately answer the above questions so that we are not dragged internationally.

We call on you to immediately change your unjust and unreasonable decision for tomorrow’s crucial European game of our team.”