Former AEK communications director and current UEFA media adviser Andreas Dimatos, in a social media post, referred to the European Football Association and its reasoning regarding the non-disciplinary prosecution of Dinamo Zagreb over the New Philadelphia incidents.

“To be fair…

Banning Dinamo Zagreb fans from traveling to European matches outside of Croatia is not a disciplinary measure taken by UEFA because of the sad events of August 7th in New Philadelphia! In other words, it is not a decision by a judicial authority following disciplinary proceedings against the Croatian team. It is an administrative decision by UEFA, similar to the travel ban decided at the AEK-Dinamo and PAO-Marseille games, but also to many similar administrative sanctions in the past.

It is understandable that UEFA would never have done so if they had instituted disciplinary proceedings against Dinamo, or rather if they had concluded that their judicial bodies had the legal competence to deal with the case of the incidents, which tragically resulted in the loss of a human life.

On a cold legal level, the question arises as to whether UEFA could initiate disciplinary proceedings against the Croatian team… Not on the naïve consideration of whether the loss of a 29-year-old’s life is less serious than flares, smoke bombs or the banners inside the stadium, but in relation to whether UEFA has jurisdiction to sanction incidents of fan violence that have occurred outside the stadium and off the day of a match and whether one or more teams can be found legally at fault decided that part of it involved their followers and what the consequences of that would be.

The serious events in New Philadelphia occupied the legal department of UEFA for several days and subsequently the recommendation was negative as to the legal validity of the initiation of disciplinary proceedings against Dinamo Zagreb by the competent bodies of the European Football Association.

The reasons are obvious, although a contrary legal opinion cannot of course be ruled out. Much more, without undermining the public’s sense of justice, which required immediate intervention from UEFA.

Most fundamental is the lack of a legal basis to establish the responsibility of the team involved in events outside the organization of a match and even on an off-match day. For UEFA Legal, any disciplinary decision against Dynamo might have put them out of a tight spot, but they would certainly pursue it at CAS as well…

Possibly it would have been easier for the legal possibility of punishment if there had not been an order banning the movement of the fans! In this case, so far-fetched, the team could somehow be held responsible for who they gave the tickets they took from the home team. Entry tickets are nominal and a detailed list will be given with the names and details of those who receive them.

However, Dinamo communicated the decision on the travel ban, didn’t issue tickets to any of their fans and even informed the Croatian authorities that some organized fans were planning to break the ban and that this should be stopped. It could easily be argued (we always talk on a legal level) that as a club it is not responsible.

On the other hand, any disciplinary action taken against Dynamo over the events in New Philadelphia would result in the legal consequence of UEFA’s obligation to follow all relevant hooligan fights on the streets of each city before their matches at club or national level. Whether it’s fan dates or one-sided episodes. Which of course must not have the tragic result of killing a young person, but from now on should be punished based on the seriousness of the scale of the incidents and on the basis of reports from the police of each country on the level of involvement and responsibility of the Fans of one or more groups.

Such a case would certainly have the direct consequence of increasing the legal responsibility of all teams for the actions of their fans, not just before, during and after the end of each game, as is currently the case in the stadium area, but for all illegal ones Actions of any group of its followers, recognized or not, everywhere and at all times. Of course, with different legal treatment depending on the case and the severity of the incidents.

On the other hand, the death of a person as a result of the violence of fanatical fans of a team has exactly the same severity and gravity, whether it happens on the eve or on the eve of a game. It cannot be limited to the two days of organizing a race, nor can limits be imposed on the basis of kilometers traveled by an organized army.

And on the other hand, any disciplinary action taken against Dinamo Zagreb and their possible severe sentence if they are held responsible for the actions of this truly appalling group of their fans should be extended depending on the progress of the domestic police investigation and the final conclusion on who finally died at the sad Episodes participated and whether only Croatian fans were both physical and moral perpetrators of a tragic murder. Dinamo fans were the protagonists of the sad events, but how to limit responsibility to the Croatian team when after a few days the police investigation revealed that the unfortunate Michalis’s killer was his compatriot?

And of course it goes without saying that there is no black and white in these cases, it goes without saying that readings differ, just as it goes without saying that the tragic loss of life of a young person should not be weighed in the balance of a legal argument can .

The bottom line is to limit the action of all those sad minorities who are indifferent to the football we love so much and which evokes emotions as strong as last night in New Philadelphia, to which they are completely indifferent. Equally indifferent to the possibility of punishing the group they claim to support, which is merely a cover for their criminal activities on many different levels and certainly not just serving extreme ideologies. No, of course it’s not about connecting these supporter groups with the teams themselves and in many cases also getting in touch directly with their leaders…

For AEK, it’s a title of honour, even greater than the historical qualifying thriller against Dinamo, the impeccable organization of yesterday’s game in New Philadelphia in extremely difficult conditions, due to what happened with the Croatian fans’ absolute responsibility. The enormous maturity, prudence, but also the professionalism shown by the people who guide him, those responsible in all areas of the association’s activity.

A great proof that we can do anything if we want to. The next step for Hagia Sophia will be to welcome fans of the opposing team, which hasn’t happened yet, but with a high level of European competition and with… ordinary away fans, it’s a matter of time.

A difficult next step, but this too can be crowned with the absolute success of organizing yesterday’s game! On the way to the yellow-black return to Europe and with the organization of a European final in a beautiful stadium set to be a model for organizing games by the standards of yesteryear!”