Football in Greece

Greek football is set to witness matches devoid of spectators for the next two months as a result of heightened incidents of violence. Pavlos Marinakis, the spokesperson for the Greek government, announced the prohibition, emphasizing a crucial need to address the surge in aggression.

European soccer's governing body UEFA needs to take a more active role in efforts to fix troubled Greek football, Panathinaikos president Giannis Alafouzos said on Thursday, days after a Greek fan died in clashes with Dinamo Zagreb fans.

Police in northern Greece on Thursday detained seven Romanian men carrying knives and protective gear, amid concerns that a deadly soccer-related attack this week could attract more groups of violent supporters from around Europe.

The Hellenic Police is on full alert in Athens, ahead of the football match between Panathinaikos and French side Marseille at the former's home base on Alexandras avenue, for fear of incidents following the deadly clashes on Monday night in Nea Philadelphia.

Panathinaikos and AEK scored precious away wins on Sunday and continue to lead the table at the halfway point of the Super League playoffs.

Panathinaikos emerged victorious from the super-tough challenge of Toumba, beating PAOK 2-1 in a game that had 16 minutes of time added-on at the end of the second half.

Olympiakos released Colombian attacking midfielder James Rodriguez on Thursday, a day after the club was eliminated from the Greek Cup. The former Real Madrid and Bayern Munich player, 31, joined the Greek club in September and scroed five goals this season.

As if Greek soccer did not have enough problems of its own, it suffered on Sunday an imported scandal, as a Polish referee hired to officiate a Super League game was involved in a tussle with Greek passengers, after allegedly getting drunk during his flight to Athens, although he claims he was sober and was attacked himself.

Jose Miguel Gonzalez resigned as coach of Olympiakos on Monday following a draw in the second round of the Greek playoffs. The former Real Madrid midfielder and Spain international known as Michel ended his second spell as manager of the Piraeus club after drawing with Aris 2-2 on Sunday.

The club named French assistant Jose Anigo as interim coach.

Greece started off in the Euro 2024 qualifiers with victory in its easiest road game on Friday, beating Gibraltar 3-0 in Portugal.

Mimis Papaioannou, a legendary soccer star for AEK Athens and the club's top scorer, died on Wednesday morning after struggling with health issues for years. He was 81.