Schoolboy soccer ‘hooligans’ let off

Two boys, aged 10 and 11, who were among seven soccer fans arrested at the Olympiakos versus Panathinaikos match on Sunday night for attacking riot police, were released from custody yesterday. A prosecutor ordered the minors’ release but charged the other five fans who allegedly threw rocks and other objects at riot police who tried to prevent some Olympiakos fans from entering the Karaiskaki Stadium without tickets. Three policemen were slightly injured. Several fans used a rope, dangled from a staircase by other supporters, to haul themselves into the stadium. Meanwhile, a fan of Thessaloniki club Iraklis, who was arrested for running onto the pitch on Sunday, told a judge that he was trying to prevent another supporter from disrupting the game and had not meant to cause any trouble. His case was adjourned until March 14.