THE AEK it is 40 minutes from the Basketball Champions League Final Four. The “Union” answered the power of Hapoel Jerusalem with power, made big shots and earned a well-deserved 94-78 win. And that was – unfortunately – not the topic of last night (4.12.).

At the same time that AEK on the floor did everything to win, fans who consider themselves fans of the team They had incidents that resulted in the game being abandonedcollided with the police resulting in families leaving the stadiumthey didn’t hesitate even break through their own team’s field to get ammunition in their “battles”..

What did the friends of the group secure with it? First a big penalty for their team who are already in trouble due to the incidents in the game with Rezzo Emilia Where resulted in a three-game suspension. A penalty that was initially two games but had been increased to three games because AEK was unruly again.

Financially, the losses will be enormous

It is questionable when AEK will have spectators in the stadium again at a home game in Europe in the 2023/24 season. The scenario that AEK will have fans in its stadium again in 2024 at a European game should not be ruled out. For anyone who knows how to even count to 12 (however many months in the year) this means that the ‘Union’ will not have the people on their side at a home game in Europe for more than 8 months.

At the same time, there’s another… detail that those involved in the episodes couldn’t see: if AEK qualifies for the Final Four, it’s now almost unlikely that the event will be, given the pictures with the Episodes are fresh. No matter how cheerful Patrick Komninos is, no matter how successful the organization of the 2018 Final Four was, the image of the closed Ano Liosia looking like a war landscape does not help the candidacy of the “yellow-blacks”.

AEK didn’t miss qualifying yesterday as it stays alive. But he lost money. He is being fined heavily because sponsors are wary, fans are reluctant to buy tickets knowing their package won’t include major European games, and the possibility of incidents at one of those games if an opponent plays the “wrong.” “ power to bring fans.

The unaccepted request from AEK and the sick mentality

The moment it was announced that Hapoel Jerusalem will have almost 500 fans in the stadium, there were people who were afraid of what was to come next. At KAE AEK, they had the same fear for precisely this reason and, among other things, asked the Israelis to go to the stadium much earlier from the center of Athens, where they lived. AEK had asked – by letter – for the Israeli coaches to leave central Athens at 2:30pm (the game was at 5:30pm). The coaches started at 3:30 p.m., which led to a first meeting of the fans of the two teams in the stadium’s parking lot.

Something has to be clarified here somewhere: Whether the Hapoel fans went to the stadium at 4:30 p.m. or at 3:30 p.m. or at… 11:00 a.m., the incidents would have happened anyway. Why; Why so. Because this is the sick mentality of the average Greek fan who finds a way to quarrel with Reggio Emilia fans because AEK has a partnership with Livorno. Or arguing with the Hapoel Jerusalem fan because the “Union” supports Palestine, which is true by the way, since AEK even organized friendlies for it.

It is of course doubtful that the friends of the team had these friendlies in mind because then they would fill the stadium with these games played between relatives and friends. Like most of AEK’s games this year.

AEK’s use of the pitch was and continues to be injured

This year’s AEK is the team of transcendence. He got through two groups of the Basketball Champions League – with half the games behind closed doors – and overcame the obstacles of bigger budget teams like Tofas and Galatasaray. They have lost their best player (Janis Strelnieks) and are facing the – excellent – Hapoel Jerusalem. He seems to find his balance. But she was hurt and is hurt by her fans. If you can call them your followers.

AEK is used to playing in a half-empty stadium. When half full, the closed Ano Liosia is indeed a strong seat due to the room acoustics. When it’s full it looks like hell. But the point is that, as it turns out, having a full stadium isn’t in AEK’s interests at the end of the day. It is not in their interest to play against an opponent who brings their own fans with them, as it is possible that this game will never end.

It’s possible that an AEK game in a crowded stadium could have been canceled because someone had the inspiration to have a flare gun and target the team’s fans. Break down the team’s canteen to get marbles and ammo. Forcing AEK to ensure that the canteens in the surrounding areas are emptied of produce, to avoid (also) looting by those who might want to eat some croissants or drink a juice to… their energy to refuel. But it’s this fear of the inevitable that makes things worse.

At the end of the game with Hapoel, the topic should be how AEK defeated Hankins in the pick and roll with Lemar, how they marked Meyeris in the pick and pop of miles, the big shots from Flionis and Koniaris, how Mitchell dominated two games under the baskets , Jankovic’s post. Instead, it’s about the crooks who broke into the team’s stadium, chased families (and maybe sponsors) out of the stadium and cost AEK many thousands of euros. And they will cost even more money.

hp: Because some things need to be mentioned. Kudos to AEK’s medical staff for their reflexes before the game started when a journalist suddenly lost consciousness. The KAE people rushed to the press office and made sure everything was going well and immediately helped the journalist.