Greek fan killed by hooligans
An AEK Athens fan was stabbed to death on August 7 in violent clashes ahead of a Champions League qualification match between AEK Athens and Dinamo Zagreb. Between 150 and 200 Croatian hooligans had travelled to Athens despite a ban on visiting fans. While the Greek press voices outrage at the violence and the authorities' lack of action, a debate has flared up in Croatia over the treatment of the 105 detainees.
No more football then
News website Liberal calls for tough measures:
“Football teams are professionals and should be treated as such. Quite simply, those who abide by the law should be allowed to continue their activities. Those who cannot should be banned. This must stop! And if the entire league has to be suspended, so be it. ... Football is a game. War on the pavements and lost lives have no part there. They are crimes and should be treated as such.”
An open wound, an incompetent state
Naftemporiki criticises the lack of preventive measures against the Dinamo Zagreb hooligans:
“Their arrival in Greece was known to the police authorities, as were their vehicles and even their number plates and their death route. Yet no preventive measures were taken. The state has turned its back on the citizens. It has shown indifference, ignored all warnings from European authorities, passively accepted the 'invasion' and left society unprotected. ... And the price for this was high. The murder of an AEK Athens fan has fully exposed the incompetence of the responsible authorities and proved that violence among fans remains an open wound for Greece that won't heal but only gets worse.”
Croatian government should have stepped in
Večernji list finds the way the detained Dinamo supporters are being treated outrageous:
“If only part of what the hooligans themselves or the parents and lawyers of the arrested Croats say is true, then not only are they exposed to a lynching atmosphere, but their basic human rights are being violated in detention. ... Our consul in Athens was only able to contact some of the detained Croats after three days of trying, and he confirmed that some of those who were injured did not receive medical help as quickly as they should have. ... The Foreign Ministry should have reacted and sent a diplomatic note to the Greek government.”
No false solidarity with violent criminals
Jutarnji list criticises the debate in Croatia:
“If the stories about the Dinamo Zagreb hooligans in Athens continue, it could just be a matter of time before Croatia declares war on Greece for allegedly kidnapping our citizens. The Bad Blue Boys, correctly described last Tuesday as a group of violent criminals who travelled to the Greek metropolis to go on a rampage and break bones, and who incidentally took part in the murder of an AEK fan, are being described as the innocent victims of an unfair, repressive apparatus. ... This is the standard line: 'our boys' are never to blame, even if they have 'sinned a little'.”