Violence among Greek soccer fans is leading to more and more matches without audiences. But perpetrators aren’t being prosecuted consistently – in part because of conflicting business, political, and media interests.
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00:00 Every photograph of their son reopens old wounds.
00:05 More than two years ago, Aris Kabanos and his wife Melina lost their son when he fell
00:10 victim to a crime.
00:16 He always tried to support the weaker pupils at school, anyone who needed help.
00:23 He was an angel.
00:27 I miss him very much.
00:35 Alkis was killed because he was a fan of the wrong soccer team.
00:39 Hooligans from an opposing club beat him to death in broad daylight.
00:47 When it came to fanatical fans, he kept away from them.
00:57 I remember I would warn him again and again so he wouldn't get involved in incidents.
01:08 There is a memorial to Alkis in the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki.
01:12 The 19-year-old was sitting here with his friends when the attackers showed up in cars.
01:18 The hooligans asked which team they supported.
01:21 Then the punches and stabbing began.
01:24 Alkis bled to death at the scene.
01:27 A mix of sports and violence has long been a part of daily life in Greece.
01:31 But the brutality of recent years is unprecedented.
01:35 Three people were killed in 18 months.
01:39 The most recent death came in December 2023, when police officer Georgos Legerides was
01:45 fatally injured by a flare.
01:49 There are two First Division soccer clubs in Thessaloniki.
01:53 Sports journalist Periklis Stelas says that's a recipe for trouble.
01:58 He's been a victim of the violence himself.
02:00 Twenty years ago, he was attacked by masked assailants on the street.
02:05 His injuries were life-threatening.
02:08 Three days earlier, he had received an anonymous call.
02:13 He told me that if you will not stop right about this person, you will have a big problem.
02:27 His assailants were never caught, even though there were many security cameras at the scene.
02:33 Stelas suspects that the influence wielded by big soccer clubs in Greece reaches all
02:37 the way to the police and politics.
02:41 Never investigate governments, politicians, journalists.
02:50 No one.
02:51 Touch the system.
02:56 Stelas says the media are involved as well.
02:58 All you need to do is look at the country's soccer publications.
03:02 Their headlines are meant to rile up the fans.
03:05 Kill them.
03:10 We must win a boy, 16 years old, who reads this newspaper.
03:20 What he will do?
03:23 Nikos Kontos has a 15-year-old son who's a fan of the Ares club.
03:29 He wouldn't allow him to go to the stadium alone.
03:32 Kontos is going to one of the club's home games today, but he's always on the lookout
03:37 for hooligans.
03:39 You have to be especially careful when there's matches between local rivals.
03:46 It's best when fans from both sides avoid each other.
03:48 I don't drive through the Tumba district of the city, where the Tumba stadium is located.
03:57 Riot police have already been posted in front of Ares stadium.
04:01 Kontos has his personalized admission ticket on his phone, as digitized tickets have replaced
04:07 printed ones.
04:09 At least Kontos can get back into the stadium again.
04:12 After the police officer was killed, the Greek Soccer Association ordered matches be played
04:17 in empty stadiums for three months.
04:20 Yet visiting fans are still not allowed in the stadium, for security reasons.
04:28 Nikos Kontos' team won two-nil in the end.
04:31 He says the government should be tougher on the hooligans.
04:36 They should double the sentences.
04:37 There has to be a deterrent, especially when the attacks are taking place outside of the
04:41 stadium.
04:45 Alkis was killed far from the stadium.
04:48 There wasn't even a match that day.
04:51 His father, Ares, has campaigned since then for nationwide reconciliation between different
04:56 groups of fans.
05:01 There is no magical overnight solution for the problem of fan violence.
05:06 Everyone involved, our whole society, we must come together in the name of change.
05:14 But Kabanos still says he's seen little progress in Greece.
05:18 Violence continues to mar sports events.
05:21 That's why this year, as in the years before, the Soccer Cup final will be played without
05:26 spectators.
05:27 [BLANK_AUDIO]