Police on full alert around Panathinaikos stadium for game on Wed night
The Hellenic Police is on full alert in Athens, ahead of the football match between Panathinaikos and French side Marseille at the former’s home base on Alexandras avenue, for fear of incidents following the deadly clashes on Monday night in Nea Philadelphia.
The match begins at 9 p.m. It follows a scheduled match a day ago between AEK and Dinamo Zagreb that was postponed after deadly clashes initiated by Croat hooligans on Monday night that ended in a death of a young AEK fan.
At an emergency meeting at the Athens General Police Directorate (GADA) near the sports facility earlier on Wednesday, officials decided on a strong police presence around the stadium, along with strict supervision of football clubs, subway stations, and other possible gathering places, and restriction of traffic around the stadium. Access to the stadium will be denied to those without a ticket.
GADA will provide nearly 1,000 police officers. Of these, 450 will be stationed around the stadium, while other officers will be patrolling on motorcycles at areas of interest. Riot police will be on standby as well, police said, while a drone and a police helicopter will be used for observation as well. [AMNA]
