Amateur Olympiacos against the police: “We have experienced truly tragic moments, 500 sports fans were illegally arrested”

Amateur Olympiacos issued a statement on the incidents that occurred outside Melina Merkouri and resulted in the serious injury of a police officer who is in intensive care under sedation.

In its announcement, Olympiacos emphasized, among other things, that the violation occurred almost five hundred meters from the closed facility, while stressing that the police had illegally detained 500 people.

The announcement from Amateur Olympiakos:

“Then I met her for the first time Events of last night OLYMPIAKOS SFP We must denounce the leadership of the Greek police for the tragic handling of a sad incident, the serious injury of a police officer fighting for his life, and we wish him and all those who suffered injuries and lung problems painless recovery from unjustified police violence.

Incident that occurred outside and away from the field of play by a group of people who had nothing to do with the game either before or after the incident. It is emphasized that the incidents began after the first set of the volleyball match, which was won by OSFP, for no apparent reason. And the serious injury occurred on a side street, almost five hundred meters from the Melina Merkouri indoor stadium. Facts showing that they were instigated by rioters who probably did not come back after the end, but moved on in unknown directions, since it would have been very easy for the police to lock them up given the forces they already had on the ground and arrest area.

Instead, the police supervisor’s panicked and tragic response was to throw countless chemicals and tear gas near the stadium, poisoning the atmosphere in the closed stadium and killing approximately 800 spectators (team delegations, support staff, match officials and fans, underage academy athletes and teenagers). professional footballers on our team at risk), to panic among families and small children and of course to the interruption of the game (which worries us least) as it was not possible to leave or stay on the field. This tragically irresponsible and dangerous response by police chiefs continued in even more tragic ways.

For the first time in Greek history, not only in sports, it was decided to violently KILL all fans in the closed stadium because a police officer was injured. A decision that caused even greater panic among fans and was dangerously aggravated by a fire inside the closed stadium of unknown cause, which fortunately was extinguished by the immediate intervention of the OLYMPICOS management and not the fire department, which was not allowed approach! After desperate pleas for calm from the OLYMPIAKOS administration, the police decided to release only the women and children as well as the athletes of the two teams and to illegally detain about 500 fans, ie all men over 15 years old!! A decision that is clearly reminiscent not only of the Junta, but also of the retaliatory tactics of the Nazis!! Their inability to foresee and deal with the incidents unfortunately continued with the decision to transfer hundreds of hostages in cages to the dungeons of the Directorate of Transitional Courts of Attica in Petrou Ralli. Including sponsors, partners, employees, journalists, fathers, athletes, many of them were beaten and insulted for no reason.

We experienced truly tragic moments: children said goodbye to their fathers with sobs and kisses, women hugged their partners and friends! We explain to all of them in the clearest and most categorical way that OLYMPIAKOS will stand by their side in every way until their complete moral and psychological rehabilitation.

Regarding the political and physical management of the police, we finally turn to two simple questions: Do you really intend to use the same hostage-taking tactics in the future in any closed or open place of gathering of people in the event of an injury to a police officer? Officer? Are you really going to use the same tactics if a fan is injured? In this case, gentlemen, all you have to do is present your police credentials and RESIGN YESTERDAY, humbly apologizing to your seriously injured colleague, his relatives and Greek society. Close your houses with the lights off and consider that in 2023 you decide to express the long arm of state power in a fascist manner in your desperate attempt to cover up your incompetence in the performance of your government and police duties .

And in the event that your deafness overcomes your guilt and you remain in your positions, you will be forever stigmatized for the harm you have caused to your unfortunate colleague through your inability to fulfill the duty of incident prevention. As do hundreds of fans who have suffered and continue to suffer from beatings, insults and unjustified violent behavior during their detention, which continues without legal justification.

OLYMPIAKOS will continue to unequivocally defend the values ​​and ideals of democratic sport – and not just its history, and will take all necessary measures against all political sports and judicial authorities.”