Football-league suspended after owner marches onto pitch with a gun
The Greek Super League, the country's top flight football championship, has been indefinitely suspended by the government after clashes broke out during the match between PAOK and AEK Athens. Clashes and fan violence are not new in football, but what made the government take this extreme step of indefinitely suspending the league?
PAOK owner threatened referee with a gun
The Greece Football Association was forced to take the extraordinary measure after PAOK owner Ivan Savvidis invaded the pitch with a gun to confront the referee. Savvidis, who stormed in along with his security, was unhappy about the referee's decision to rule out the 90th-minute goal from Fernando Varela an offside, with the scores being tied at 0-0.
Greece's government is now trying to clean its football
The chaos meant that the match was abandoned two hours later and the goalless draw was upheld. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is desperate to clean the sport since the Greek Super League has been marred by violence on and off the pitch. Now all matches will remain suspended until further notice.
PAOK and AEK were fighting for the title this year
PAOK and AEK are in a neck-and-neck race for the league title this season which could be their first title in over 24 years. Olympiakos have won the last seven championships under the ownership of prominent businessman Vangelis Marinakis.
