Greek football manager ‘handed four month touchline ban’ after footage emerges of club chief trying to FIGHT rival supporters in a car park
A Greek football manager has been handed a four-month touchline ban after footage showed him trying to confront a rival supporter.
After a narrow 1-0 defeat to rivals AEK Athens – where ex-Spurs star Erik Lamela scored the winner – PAOK boss Razvan Lucescu was seen lashing out at a fan in the stadium car park.
Imagery that appeared on X Lucescu appeared to rush down the steps of the team bus and stumbled as he ran outside to confront the AEK supporter.
A report from I amSport claimed Lucescu was annoyed by the fans, who lifted an AEK shirt from six years ago to the bus as they walked through the car park.
Although PAOK personnel tried to restrain Lucescu, they were unable to do so and police were forced to intervene.
In the clip, a large group of officers rushed towards Lucescu as he tried to make his way towards the AEK fans.
PAOK boss Razvan Lucescu has been handed a four-month touchline ban after footage showed him trying to confront a rival supporter
Footage showed Lucescu trying to run towards an AEK Athens fan in a stadium parking lot
It has since been reported that Lucescu and his assistants Pantelis Konstantinidis, Georgios Tsonakas, Georgios Theodoridis and Athanasios Kapoulas have all been fined.
According to reports, the coaching staff have each been fined £12,400 (€15,000) for their role in the ordeal. PAOK itself was fined £24,800 (€30,000).
AEK Athens manager Matias Almeyda was involved in a heated brawl after a fiery derby against PAOK resulted in ugly scenes after the final whistle.
In embarrassing chaos in Greece, AEK lost 3-2 to their rivals in a crucial match in the Super League title race and the result lit the fuse of a chaotic altercation.
Almeyda was captured on camera expressing his anger at full-time before becoming involved in a scuffle as a small crowd of bodies gathered around the dugout.
The 50-year-old was seen pushing Sergio Araujo, his own player, and a substitute and then confronted a number of people, forcing police to intervene.
PAOK’s Taison and several AEK coaches tried to stop Almeyda, but were unable to do so as he wriggled away and grabbed another person by the neck.
Ultimately, Almeyda was dragged out of the fight and the flare-up disappeared.
According to Greek publication Sportal, the man apparently smothered by Almeyda was an official working for the Sub-Directorate for the Prevention of Sports Violence.
Police quickly rushed to the scene to try to curb the PAOK manager’s actions
The coaching staff were each fined £12,400 (€15,000) for their role in the ordeal
Meanwhile, the Greek government announced in December last year that top football matches would be played behind closed doors until February 12 after a police officer was injured in clashes between rival fans.
Action was taken after a police officer suffered a severed artery in his thigh during a volleyball match in Athens.
The match was between rivals Olympiacos and Panathinaikos, with both teams owned by football clubs of the same name.
Pavlos Marinakis, a government spokesman, announced after a meeting led by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis that all top football matches would be held behind closed doors for two months.