In high-stakes season for Greek soccer Panathinaikos sees path to Champions League with AEK Athens

Success in Greek soccer is often weighed down by off-the-field controversy. This time it's the killing of a fan in Athens.

Panathinaikos owner Giannis Alafouzos missed being in France to see his team eliminate former European champion Marseille from the Champions League on Tuesday - its biggest game in more than a decade.

He and leaders of other clubs were due to meet with the prime minister of Greece and the president of UEFA at a crisis meeting the next morning in Athens concerning organized violence in soccer, Alafouzos told the Associated Press in an telephone interview on Thursday.

Stellar results in recent Champions League qualifying games for Panathinaikos and AEK Athens should have set the stage for rival Olympiakos hosting Manchester City's victory over Sevilla on Wednesday in the UEFA Super Cup.

Instead, a pall was cast over it all. The AEK fan...