The emergency interministerial meeting on fan violence chaired by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis Saturday at the Maximos Mansion has concluded, with statements from the government’s spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis expected on Monday, local media reported.
According to reports, the government is – yet again – considering possible measures to combat hooligan violence inside and outside venues, two days after the serious injury of a 31-year-old police officer during violence outside a top-flight men’s volleyball game between Olympiakos and Panathinaikos in the near-Piraeus district of Rentis.
In addition, the government is considering revoking the decision it made last August which allowed police officers to be posted outside the club buildings of football fans; the police union has requested its revocation out of fear for their members’ lives.
Another scenario is the suspension of professional leagues. While it seems a radical decision, the government is not ruling it out, saying that the Prime Minister’s decisions will be strict as “there is no other way”.
Meanwhile, the 424 individuals who were remanded for questioning on Thursday night, after the violent incidents, were released on Saturday, while the investigation to identify the perpetrator responsible for shooting the policeman with a flare gun continues.
Around 40 of the fans questioned were known to the authorities from similar incidents in the past.
Police officer in critical condition
The 31-year-old police officer is in a medically induced coma at a Piraeus-area hospital’s ICU, according to the latest hospital announcement.
“…the patient remains in critical condition, hospitalized in the ICU under sedation and mechanical ventilation,” the announcement read.
The incident took place Thursday night during a volleyball game between Olympiacos Piraeus and Panathinaikos Athens.
According to the police, hooligans came out of the sports arena, firing flares directly at police, resulting in serious injury to one officer, who remains hospitalized in serious condition.
