Panathinaikos: “The tear gas is a criminal act by the police who issued this order”

The amateur Panathinaikos made a sharp statement against the police. The Greens stress that dropping tear gas at the entrance to Gate 3 is a criminal offence.

The corresponding announcement in detail: “Panathinaikos Athletic Club announces the events that took place at Agios Thomas Stadium in Maroussi.

The association expresses its great dissatisfaction and concern at the attitude of the police forces ahead of the start of the game against Olympiakos.

Unfortunately, in a game where everyone at Panathinaikos did their best to make it a real volleyball festival, it seemed that the police forces who were in charge of securing the stadium didn’t agree.

Panathinaikos fully complied with the police orders adopted when taking the measures and did not deviate from them in any way.

It was the police decision to open the stadium doors at 5:45 p.m. and no sooner to avoid overcrowding.

But while it was initially decided at the action meeting that there would be police officers outside Gate 3 so there would be a pre-check, in the end nothing like this ever happened.

On the contrary, until 5.40 p.m. There wasn’t even a police outside Gate 3 to do what was agreed.

All of this resulted in fans, the permanent owners of Panathinaikos, creating a crowd outside the stadium.

The attitude of the police toward the season ticket holders was aggressive from the first moment, and the result was a great deal of tension that had not existed until that moment.

Voluntarily or unintentionally on the part of the police, incidents occurred in which many fans were injured and as if that wasn’t enough, police forces fired tear gas into the stadium and another at the steps of the Gate 3 entrance.

This is a CRIMINAL action and raises questions as to who gave this order as an unbearable atmosphere was created and panic reigned as there were many children in the stands as well as disabled people all crowded against a door and some trying to to do so were trampled out.

Questions about this action, which endangered the lives of hundreds of people, remain unanswered.

Panathinaikos President Mr. Panagiotis Malakas said in a statement: “I apologize for the suffering Panathinaikos fans have suffered and I apologize to the people who have been hurt unnecessarily. From now on, we will take the necessary measures to hold accountable those who carried out these actions tonight, which endangered the lives of people and the smooth running of a European game and shamed our country internationally.”