The Greek government on Wednesday announced yet another round of measures aimed at combating hooligan violence that often plagues sports events, with PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis himself earlier, during a Cabinet meeting, noting that “we’ll proceed with their immediate implementation, (of measures) which may have applied in the past but weren’t implemented by the teams.”
Hours later the relevant alternate sports minister, Yannis Vroutsis, said measures include the mandatory installation and operation of hi-resolution cameras in pro football and basketball stadiums to monitor the stands. He said games won’t commence if cameras are not working, and without fans in attendance if their operation is shoddy.
Another measure is to acknowledge only one fan club per team, while implementing an e-ticket entry system in tandem with use of a mobile phone app, in order to immediately determine a holder’s identity.
The latest violence earlier this month, occurring some 500 meters from an indoor arena hosting a top-flight men’s volleyball game, saw a riot police officer severely injured after a highly incendiary flare lodged into his thigh.
An 18-year-old man attending the match was charged two days later with firing a flare gun at the police officer. Other arrests are pending, authorities have signalled.
