By Andreas Gkoumplias,
One of the ever existing issues regarding sports, and more specifically football, is the violence that comes with it. Two weeks ago, one day before the first game of AEK Athens versus Dynamo Zagreb for the UCL qualifiers, a frightening, vicious and deadly attack was launched by hooligans of the Croatian team that led to the death of the 29 year old AEK supporter, Michalis Katsouris and also led to the scheduled match being cancelled.
The issue of hooliganism is no new subject to cover. As we all know, hooligans have existed since the very beginning of sports and will never cease to exist, simply because some people fail to understand that sports should be the cause of happiness, enjoyment and learning, not the cause of suffering and casualties. This time, however, things were different, regarding the attack that took place in Athens. According to various reports, the Croatian hooligans passed through the borders via cars, imposing as tourists going on vacation. Border police had full knowledge that there were a lot of them entering the country at once and that there was a chance of an organized attack before or after the coming football match. But even when they arrived in Athens, they scattered and went to set their plan to motion, police were made aware early enough, yet they did nothing to stop them, resulting in the fatality and in the injuries of some people.
Pointing fingers is not something I’m attempting to do via this article. Behaviors like that will most probably keep happening, because, to put it simply, nobody cares enough to educate young people on the consequences that arise from such actions. Ironically enough, when we go to school we are taught Geography, History, Language, Mathematics etc, yet we are never taught that we should treat others with respect, towards their opinions, beliefs etc. The absence of lessons that shape the behavior and understanding of how one should act from schools are one of the main reasons as to why we are facing such situations every now and again.
In my opinion, as a country, we have hit rock bottom multiple times over the last few years, but in this specific case the fact the attack could have been prevented and wasn’t is not a fault; it is a crime. And the fact that even now, no newer attempts are underway to end the cycle of violence that has been open for so many years is ridiculous to say the least. The latest attempt was announced just days after the attack by the Prime Minister of Greece, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, announcing that football club fan associations will be closing down with the exception of one in the club’s headquarters, in an attempt to avoid a UEFA ban from European competitions for Greek teams.
The issue of violence and hooliganism in sports is one that we should totally be worried about. The situation is escalating rapidly each year and while everyone keeps saying ‘’May it be the last time something like this happens’’, incidents keep happening again and again. We need to truly put in a lot of effort, in order to eradicate violence from something that is supposed to be a fest. We owe this to those innocent ones who have lost their lives, for the sake of wearing a kit different than those who killed them.
