Soccer federation appeals decision to suspend Greek Cup

The Greek soccer federation says it has appealed to the country's highest administrative court against a government decision to suspend the Greek Cup competition following fan violence at a semifinal match.

The federation says it has asked the court to expedite the case.

Last week, the sports ministry took the highly unusual step of scrapping the other semifinal and the April 23 final after violence in the northern city of Thessaloniki. The referee stopped the game between local club PAOK and Olympiakos in the 90th minute after home fans threw flares onto the field and clashed with riot police as Olympiakos was leading 2-1.

The federation says the government decision is unfounded and interferes with the independence of sports federations.

[AP]