Greek league suspended after gun controversy

Athens, March 12: Greece’s top- flight football championship was suspended indefinitely Monday, a minister said, hours after the owner of the PAOK team invaded the pitch with a gun strapped to his belt.

“We have decided to suspend the championship,” deputy minister for sport Yiorgos Vassiliadis told reporters after an emergency meeting with Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.

“It will not start again without a new framework agreed by all,” Vassiliadis said, adding that the government was in close contact with European football body Uefa, which he said had been “shocked” by the incident. Police have issued a warrant for the arrest of PAOK owner, Greek- Russian businessman Ivan Savvidis, after he stormed the pitch on Sunday, accompanied by bodyguards, to confront the referee in protest at a 90th- minute disallowed goal in a top- of- the- table clash against AEK Athens.

The match was interrupted as AEK’s squad walked off the pitch. The goal was later allowed.

Vassiliadis said the government had “fought to clean up” Greek football “and would not allow all this effort to be threatened”.

“We from await proposals the federation and the league,” he said. “A tougher framework is needed.” He did not rule out the prospect of Greek clubs sitting out next season’s European matches, but insisted the national team would not be affected.

PAOK and AEK are in a neck- and- neck race for the league title.