'Europe's maddest derby' abandoned after player hit by firework as players rebel
It's been billed as 'Europe's maddest derby' and sure enough, Sunday's clash between Olympiacos and Panathinaikos lived up to its reputation.
But the circumstances that led to the Greek Super League clash between the two rivals being abandoned on Sunday will now yield serious repercussions. With the game poised at 1-1, away defender Juankar was struck by a firecracker allegedly thrown onto the pitch by home Olympiacos fans.
The Spanish left-back collapsed on the floor before the medical cart arrived. He was then taken to the hospital as players from both sides headed for the dressing rooms.
Fans remained in the ground with the expectation that play would eventually restart. However, after a delay of more than 60 minutes, it emerged that Panathinaikos players were refusing to step back onto the field.
On social media, the club confirmed: “An hour has passed since stoppage time in the derby. Our team remains in the locker room.” At around 9.30pm, some three hours after kick-off, an announcement was made that the game would indeed restart.
However, the visitors reportedly refused to come back out despite their opponents, whose players had stayed on the field some 30 minutes after the incident, being willing to play. Eventually, in the absence of a mutual agreement between both teams, the officials abandoned the game.
And a further post from the club implied they were happy to let the authorities decide on an outcome, saying: "The referee closed the match sheet and the fate of the match will be decided in the courts..."
The game was abandoned after Juankar was taken to hospital (Twitter)HAVE YOUR SAY! Were the players right not to return? Comment below.
The saga unfolded after Mady Camara had levelled the game up for Olympiakos. Georgios Vagiannidis had put Panathinaikos ahead early on, with the visitors needing a win to go level on points with their rivals at the top of the table.
Trouble in the fixture is nothing new however. In 2019, the clash was also abandoned after Panathinaikos supporters attacked opposition players, storming towards the sidelines before police intervened.
The game did re-start only for violence scenes to continue between fans outside the ground. Eventually, the game was scrapped after 70 minutes after some fans set fire to banners.
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