Hooliganism

What is it like to live in constant fear of attack or imprisonment by the Russian state? The very harsh reality is described to Kathimerini by the creator of the Russian feminist protest art collective Pussy Riot, Nadya Tolokonnikova.

A report submitted by Citizen Protection Minister Giannis Oikonomou to the Supreme Court prosecutor's office last week details the criminal activities of many well-known soccer hooligans and the connections, at least of some of them, to political extremism on the left and right.

It is a common secret from Russia to Latin America and from Eastern Europe to the Western Balkans that hooliganism and common crime often tread common ground; that hard-line associations of fans of the rituals of war and violence are sometimes the reservoirs from which extremist formations and organized crime recruit executioners.

Empty stadiums for two months as a means to combat hooliganism will not change anything, according to seven out 10 people who participated in a survey by Prorata, against the backdrop of the measures announced by the government after the bloody incidents in Athens last week.

Citizen Protection Minister Yannis Oikonomou and Deputy Minister of Sports Giannis Vroutsis submitted a comprehensive catalog containing approximately 200 names of hooligans active across all sports teams on a national scale to Prosecutor Georgia Adelini of the Supreme Court on Tuesday. 

My friend and Kathimerini commentator Takis Theodoropoulos has a point when he writes that "there is no racism in Greece, to the extent that the 'noble souls' want to present it." Things are, in fact, even worse, if we look at the big picture.

UEFA president Alexander Ceferin urged Europe on Wednesday to help eliminate hooliganism, which he called "the cancer of football", days after a man was killed in clashes before a match between AEK Athens and Dinamo Zagreb in Greece.

Not for the first time, Greece's basketball championship has ended with the final game abandoned due to fan violence.

This time, Olympiakos was crowned champion for the 14th time Thursday after the fourth finals game was abandoned with two minutes and 46 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

An investigation into hooliganism has been launched in RU-Kardzhali after a scandal between two groups in an establishment in the city.

Vucic and his followers have created a hostile environment for newsrooms and individuals who criticize the government. Journalists who are called traitors and foreign mercenaries by members of the regime say everything is "allowed". It reminds us of the atmosphere of lynching, which we'd naively believed had gone down in history.