With no venue for cup final, Greek soccer back in turmoil

Rival club owners have been ac‐ cused of a "concerted and or‐ ganized effort" to disrupt Greek soccer.

The country's soccer federa‐ tion has failed to find a venue for the Greek Cup final between AEK Athens and PAOK Thessa‐ loniki on May 24 after seeking assistance to host the match in Cyprus, England, Germany or Australia.

Two local stadiums, in the cen‐ tral Greek cities of Volos and Larissa, have also been ruled out after safety inspections.

"The fans of AEK and PAOK and those in general should be aware that the (federation) is facing an concerted and organ‐ ized effort to stop the Greek Cup final from taking place under the pretext of preventing fan vi‐ olence," the federation said Wednesday. "

Every effort will be made to hold the final at a neutral ground and even if this obstruc‐ tionist effort continues. The final will go ahead."

Greek Cup finals in the past have been repeatedly marred by violence, and federation officials say this year's game will likely take place in front of only a se‐ lect group of supporters.

The debacle regarding the venue ends another year of tur‐ moil in Greek soccer with heated public spats between rival tycoon club owners, many with fortunes in shipping, en‐ ergy and the news media.

Referees from overseas were again used to officiate major games.

But Polish match officials pulled out of a Greek match last month following a reported al‐ tercation with passengers at Athens International Airport.

The incident prompted UEFA to withdraw its support from the referee assistance program.

"UEFA was deeply saddened and highly disturbed to learn about another incident concern‐ ing the abusive and violent be‐ havior towards football referees delegated to officiate recent matches in the Greek champi‐ onship," UEFA president Alek‐ sander Ceferin wrote in a May 1 letter to the Greek soccer feder‐ ation.

"We must prioritize the safety of our match officials, who must be kept away from such hostile and dangerous situations."

Greek officials said the deci‐ sion was unlikely to impact the three remaining rounds of the league playoffs because referees had already been selected.

AEK Athens and city rival Panathinaikos currently lead the standings with 76 points each from 33 games. Defending champion Olympiakos trails by 10 points despite the high‐pro‐ file signings of former Real Madrid duo Marcelo and James Rodriguez, who were both re‐ leased during the season.