http://www.stuff.co.nz/print/4011085a1823.html
Friday, 30 Mar 2007
Man dies as Greek volleyball fans clash
ATHENS: A man died and six other people were injured, one critically, in clashes between rival volleyball fans heading to a women’s match in eastern Athens, Greek media have reported.
“They were fighting with clubs, knives, steel bars, stones for over 15 minutes. I hid behind the electricity pylon for cover. It was war,” a resident of the Peania suburb told private Mega television.
The station said the dead man, who was in his twenties, had been stabbed several times in the stomach and hit by a car after fans of Olympiakos Piraeus and Panathinaikos spilled on to a major road.
According to the Athens news agency ANA, the driver of the car was set upon as he attempted to escape.
The violence was condemned by Greek Public Order Minister Byron Polydoras.
“I would like to express my sorrow. These were very violent scenes,” he told reporters.
Television reports suggested that some 350 hooligans had arranged to meet for a fight some two km from where the volleyball match took place. Three shops and two cars were damaged in the fighting.
Mega said two people in the car had been arrested and 18 of the rioters taken in for questioning by the police, who were still investigating.