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NEA PHILADELPHIA, Greece (AP) — A 29-year-old Greek fan has died after in a single day clashes between rival supporters in Athens, with European governing soccer physique UEFA asserting it has postponed a Champions League qualifying sport scheduled for Tuesday due to the violence.
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After the fan’s demise, Greek authorities had requested that every one supporters must be excluded from the match between AEK Athens and Croatia’s Dinamo Zagreb on the Opap Enviornment.
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Dinamo followers had been formally already excluded beneath a earlier ruling by UEFA.
Eight followers had been injured within the clashes exterior AEK’s stadium whereas Greek police stated Tuesday that they had made 88 arrests, largely of Croatian supporters.
UEFA says what was going to be the second leg in Zagreb subsequent Wednesday will now be the primary leg. The second leg might be held in Athens on Friday 18th or Saturday nineteenth.
“UEFA deplores within the strongest potential phrases the appalling incidents that befell in Athens final evening and resulted within the lack of a life,” it stated in a press release. “Whereas expressing our deepest sympathy to the household of the sufferer, to AEK Athens FC and its followers, we wish to reiterate that violence has no place in our sport and we anticipate that these liable for this horrible act be arrested and consigned to justice within the shortest delay.
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“Following yesterday’s violence and in session with the native authorities, UEFA has determined that the circumstances for the match between AEK Athens FC and GNK Dinamo to go forward tonight aren’t met.”
UEFA and Greek authorities had anticipated issues within the Greek capital metropolis with back-to-back nights of Champions League qualifying video games involving visiting followers with a repute for dysfunction.
In consequence, UEFA had requested that no tickets must be offered to visiting followers for each the AEK-Dinamo sport on Tuesday and the Panathinaikos-Marseille match on Wednesday.
Croatian media studies stated that some 200 followers had traveled to Athens, seemingly as strange vacationers, regardless of the soccer ban.
Dinamo has a far proper fan group, which calls itself the Dangerous Blue Boys.
The clashes got here within the week earlier than Manchester Metropolis and Sevilla followers come to Athens for the UEFA Tremendous Cup sport — the normal season-opener between the title holders of the Champions League and Europa League. The sport is being performed on the Olympiakos stadium close to the port metropolis of Piraeus.
The AEK Athens stadium additionally will host a UEFA showpiece sport this season — the ultimate of the third-tier Europa Convention League subsequent Could.