PAE Olympiacos: “Is there an explanation for the photographic focus on the football team?”

PAE Olympiakos issued a statement on the occasion of the announcement of the government’s measures. The Red and Whites point to photographic attacks on the football team and wonder whether there is an explanation for this.

At the end of the announcement, PAE Olympiacos calls for an immediate change in the decision for the match against Batska Topola, which according to the government decision will take place behind closed doors.

PAE Olympiacos’ announcement:

“PAE OLYMPIAKOS always takes a firm stance against any form of violence, confirming it through actions, not words.

In this context, any initiative aimed at stopping extreme behavior in stadiums is welcome and we hope it has an impact. However, for this to happen, this initiative must be sufficiently justified and driven by seriousness.

After the recent tragic event and the injury of the unfortunate policeman, who we hope will emerge victorious from the decisive battle that everyone in the Olympiakos family is fighting, some have been made by the Greek government (once again…). Measures announced to deal with the phenomenon of fan violence.

On the occasion of the relevant law with legislative content and the KYA issued by the Ministers of Citizen Protection, Mr. Economos, the Deputy Minister of Citizen Protection, Mr. Katsafados and Mr. Vroutsis for Sports, through which the participation of our fans as well as that of the host team is the FK Backa Topola -team is banned from the Karaiskakis Stadium in tomorrow’s Europa League match, and due to the repeated questions we receive from both our fans and UEFA about the conditions for hosting the match, we publicly request this from the Greek government and the responsible ministers, Mr K. Vroutsis, Economou and Katsafado, a clear answer to the following questions:

1. PAE OLYMPIAKOS was not penalized by UEFA or any disciplinary authority for playing the match in question without fans. Despite all this, it will be the first time in the history of European Cups that a team with a law with legislative content and a ministerial decision from the Lord will take part in a European game without fans. Economou (Minister of Citizen Protection), Katsafados (Deputy Minister of Citizen Protection) and Vroutsis (Deputy Minister of Sports).

Since no reasonable person in football, nor any of the UEFA officials we speak to about the staging of the match, understands the logic behind this decision, please explain the reasons for it publicly so that everyone can understand it. Silence cannot be seen as an answer, but as an admission of the lack of explanation.

2. Apart from the fans of Olympiacos, who are forced to stay outside the pitch for no reason, Backa Topola’s visiting team has been securing tickets for several days to make available to their 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 are being banned from the field. Who compensates these people and according to what procedure?

3. At the same time as our game, a few kilometers from the Karaiskaki Stadium, the game between Panathinaikos and Maccabi Haifa will take place normally and in the presence of fans. Normally the fans of the Israeli team will be present. That is, the fans of Panathinaikos and the fans who have come to Greece from a country at war can follow their team’s game normally, without being endangered by anything and for any reason, while the fans of our team and those who Those who came from Serbia cannot enter the field.

Is there an explanation for the photographic focus on the OLYMPIACOS football team, since the unfortunate episode occurred in a different stadium and in a different 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 there are the same fans in all sports!

Is the government treating Olympic fans as citizens with limited rights?

4. Yesterday, a volleyball match of the Olympiacos team of men’s champions took place at the indoor stadium “Melina Merkouri”, just a few meters from the place where the terrible incident with the injury of the unfortunate policeman, which caused the government’s actions, took place League. The game took place normally in the presence of hundreds of our team’s fans. Next Friday, December 15, 2023, the Euroleague match between Olympiakos and Valencia will take place (tomorrow next to the closed Karaiskaki Stadium), which will be attended by thousands of fans of our team.

However, the football game 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 when they are at the Karaiskaki Stadium tomorrow, as if they have different characteristics depending on the sport they watch.

Both we as PAE OLYMPIACOS and the thousands of our fans who are excluded from watching our team play want to know who makes the distinction and according to 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, they do not mention at all what will happen to the commercial areas (suites, restaurants) that have no contact with the stadium stands. What happens to these spaces? What will the people who have rented out the stadium suites and even use them for business do? Are they allowed entry, yes or no? Has anyone from the government thought about the fact that the people who work in these places will lose their daily wages without anyone being able to explain to them why? Is there an answer to that? Only in totalitarian regimes are workers forbidden to do their jobs and companies are allowed to close for no reason!

Both we and all our sports fans – citizens of this country who are discriminated against without any explanation – 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 all legal means to protect our fans and our team from these decisions.

The only people from whom we do not expect an explanation are the deputies of Piraeus, who are deafeningly silent. In the future, don’t bother associating their name with Olympiacos: their attitude will be seen as hypocritical – and it will be. 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 answer the above questions immediately so that we are not sidelined internationally.

We call on you to immediately change your unjustified and unreasonable decision for our team’s crucial European Cup match tomorrow.”