Police on alert for Football Cup Final

The Greek Cup final is usually an excuse for opposing fans to riot inside and outside the stadium. It has happened so many times in the past 25 years, that a final without rioting is considered the exception to the rule.

Two of the most popular clubs in Greece, Panathinaikos Athens and PAOK Salonica are this season's finalists. The final is held at Athens Olympic Stadium (OAKA), which means the bulk of PAOK supporters will be traveling to the capital from Thessaloniki.

This has put police on high alert, maintaining watch over the 500 kilometer route from the north to the capital and around Athens. There is also fear of scheduled rumbles between opposing fans, with some of them even posted online, even on Facebook.

For all these reasons, police presence in the city will be overwhelming in the next couple of days. About 4,000 policemen will be on duty in the Attica region, with orders to protect the estimated 22,000 PAOK fans riving in Athens.

Most of the organized fans will be using buses and will be entering the city through the Afidnes toll post, so the bulk of the police forces will be busy there. Then there will be an overwhelming presence in the OAKA's perimeter to overlook the entrance of PAOK supporters into the Stadium, as well as escort Panathinaikos fans from the train station to their seats.

There will also be heightened police presence in the Omonoia square in downtown Athens, in Piraeus street and around all Panathinaikos fan clubs in the city center, while the main PAOK fan club in the city center will remain closed.

If that wasn't enough, the referee appointed by the Federation for the final, Tasos Kakos, is considered casus belli for both sides, because of his alleged involvement in a football scandal a decade ago, referred to as the “Paragka scandal”, where a handful of executives, referees and Federation officials were accused of fixing games to favor Olympiacos Piraeus. The case is still being investigated by the authorities.