Greek basketball finals suspended after rivalry again turns ugly
ATHENS, Greece — Greece's government on Monday suspended the basketball league finals between Panathinaikos and Olympiacos following on-court scuffles involving rival security teams.
Olympiacos won Sunday's game 91-83, leveling the best-of-five series at 1-1. The third game, scheduled for Wednesday, has been postponed.
The owners of both clubs were summoned to meet with the country's sports minister.
' will be asked to provide explicit guarantees that this situation will be brought to an end. If not, this year's championship will be definitively canceled,' government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said.
'There can be no tolerance for such pathological phenomena of violence and delinquency,' he added.
The two clubs based in the Athens area have a long and often violent history of rivalry spanning basketball, soccer and other sports. The latest unrest comes despite recent government efforts to curb sports-related violence, including surveillance systems at stadiums and mandatory ticketing linked to state ID cards.
Both Olympiacos and Panathinaikos competed in the EuroLeague Final Four in Abu Dhabi last month, finishing third and fourth, respectively. Fenerbahce defeated Monaco in the championship game.
Sunday's game at Peace and Friendship Stadium was marred by multiple incidents. Panathinaikos owner Dimitris Giannakopoulos was escorted out at halftime following a heated exchange with referees. Head coach Ergin Ataman was ejected in the fourth quarter after receiving a second technical foul. Television footage of the game showed security guards from the two teams coming to blows as Giannakopoulos walked out in a heated atmosphere.
In a statement, Panathinaikos called the officiating 'disgraceful' and biased against them.
Olympiacos co-chairman Giorgos Angelopoulos fired back, accusing Giannakopoulos of abusive behavior.
'The guy is toxic — he is the definition of violence,' Angelopoulos said. 'He cannot continue to be present in Greek sports and act this way.'
'No apology will be accepted,' he added. 'Let Panathinaikos fans celebrate him as a tough guy. We don't want people like that.'
Panathinaikos had won Game 1 of the series 80-68 on Friday at the OAKA Arena in northern Athens.
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