Greece steps up measures to fight hooliganism after killing of soccer fan

Greece will tighten rules to combat violence at sports events following the killing of a 19-year-old soccer fan in what was believed to be an attack by rival supporters.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis chaired a meeting on sports violence on Monday and government spokesman Giannis Oikonomou said afterwards the government would submit a bill reforming the sports sector to parliament in the coming weeks.

Greek soccer has been plagued by violence on and off the pitch and authorities have in recent years repeatedly promised to clean up the game.

So far at least nine people have been arrested over the killing of Alkis Kampanos, who was beaten and stabbed to death outside the Aris Thessaloniki club’s stadium in the northern city of Thessaloniki on the night of Feb. 1

He and two other males were attacked by a group of people on the street, reportedly after a brief brawl over the team they supported.

There is a strong rivalry between Aris and the city’s other team PAOK. Kampanos was an Aris supporter.

via Reuters

Image – Twitter Metodi Shumanov