Government indifferent to football clubs missing international matches

Speaking on Thursday morning, Kontonis said that the new government will take all measures necessary to eradicate the endemic violence in Greek football and that it “does not care” if government intervention leads to the exclusion of Greek clubs from European competitions.

Kontonis defended the government’s decision to suspend Greek games saying that it was the maximum allowed by current legislation.

“The legislative framework gives no opportunity for the government to intervene further”, the minister said.

On Wednesday Kontonis announced that all Super League soccer games were suspended for a week following the latest turmoil.

“Under the current circumstances it’s impossible to hold games on Sunday,” Kontonis said following a meeting with Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, adding the decision shows the government’s determination to stop violence in sports.

The minister will have a new meeting with the Super League next Wednesday to see if steps have been taken towards resolving the issue and will also take into account updated reports prepared by the police and the Standing Committee for Handling Violence.

“The government’s decision to stamp out violence in stadia is final and irreversible…We appeal to everyone and say that we won’t tolerate the business interests that are developed in the unacceptable way we’ve been seeing in recent years because they turn against the sport, the fans and those who work in the sector,” Kontonis added.