The chance of the cup and the guilt towards Alkis’ parents

The semifinal draw puts the spotlight on the Basketball Cup Final Four, even with 10 days to go until the first Yambol. The return of the institution after 18 years (that last event of Lamia in 2004 when Aris defeated Olympiakos in the finalwith Peristeri winning third place against Peristeri) and the trophy made “appetizing” by the four finalists (some more, some less) added color to the event.

On the other hand, the circumstances of the last few days, with the murder of the young Alkis in Thessaloniki, the whole atmosphere that prevails, are perhaps an opportunity for the EEC, the teams’ administrations and their fans to reflect. .. otherwise the behavior of the final -for. Of course it depends on what decision has been made for the attendance of the people by then, at the moment no more than 1,000 fans seem to have the right to be present at “Dyo Aorakia”. A lifting of the restrictive measures could bring just as many more to each of the four F4 teams.

Okay, we are a little (up to… very) ethereal to think that suddenly it will happen in a coexistence of fans of Olympiacos, Panathinaikos and AEK in a peaceful atmosphere, side by side, with a discreet police presence and has everything else NOT to do with the warlike atmosphere that usually arises in such “meetings”.

I agree with George Bartzokas who correctly commented in Thessaloniki that “SAt such events Greek society is activated, saddened and declared, but when it is over we are the same again. I’m not optimistic. There have been many similar sad incidents in the past. It has nothing to do with sport, but with our education and upbringingUsually, they will add, they get worse.

I wasn’t 21 years old when I wrote (1986) about Stavros Douvis’ brave decision to stop the PAOK-Aris derby (in his 33rd minute) and asked for the stands to be cleared because the fans of Dikefalos were swearing and throwing coins. The same was done by the former international referee a few days before the Apollon Patras-Ionian game when the stadium was evacuated 54” before the end. PAOK fans didn’t leave and Douvis won the match

Yes, it’s been 35 years since then, and for the next three decades (and not just on the basketball courts, of course) the fact that a team’s fans would swear or toss coins seems like a mistake. But I think how different would it be if Stavros Douvis’ madness was followed by all referees, or better yet, if this madness became an untouchable rule in football and basketball, with referees’ obligation to embrace it?

We all raised the monster. Bar none. Douvis was “mad”, he thought differently “graphically” and in the end events overtook us.

• When did sports institutions decide to really work together to break the abscess? never
• How willing were the owner-presidents to get rid of the hooligans? no way.
• How much has the sports press reignited fanaticism with headlines of shame as it was written, regurgitating commentary as it evolved electronically? Very.

The state is the worst. The governments that passed were either completely illegible, or they went blind, or they just didn’t know what to do. The Mitsotakis government was not original. Meetings with the participation of the prime minister and minister who is also responsible, a new sports law in view, two or three photos with those affected, that’s it. Communicative triumph.

One of these (with lots of sauce). The “labeled” hooligans are arrested by the police. They had done tsaboukades before, created episodes, but they hadn’t… killed. So why monitor them? Why ban them from entering the stadiums? The laws are not bad, in fact many problems would have been solved if we had applied them all these years.

Ten years ago, the late Costas Kaisaris wrote to Sportish on the occasion of a Molotov cocktail attack on a bus with AEK fans: “Law and Order officials just look on. These unknown (?) criminal organizations, which have neither a name, nor a seal, nor offices, have continued to work undisturbed for decades. They are also more time consistent as of November 17th.”

If not now when?

The cold-blooded murder of 19-year-old Alkis Kampanos could prove a turning point as long as the ‘so far’ whispered across Greece is true. The organization of the Basketball Cup Final Four is the first to take place after the tragic event.

The EEC has announced that it will distribute the tickets to the local municipality of Heraklion when there is a right of entry for more fans. As KAE Olympiakos General Manager Nikos Lepeniotis admitted: “We still need a few steps to reach the level of the Spaniards“.

But we could also take a step forward with the Cretan fans of the big three teams and finally organize a sporting event in 2022 without breaking everyone’s heart and organizing the police into a gigantic war effort.

The federal government can dare more. The contact with the administrations of Olympiacos and Panathinaikos brought the desired success for the reinforcement of the national team by “green” and “red-white” national players and shows that there is reason for reconciliation.

It’s an opportunity for everyone to put their desires aside and act on what those who are hurting the most are saying. In their immeasurable pain, Alkis’ father and mother have the courage and strength to wish that “their son’s blood be shed last” and to warn us that the abscess will not rupture with dirty hands. ..