Gun-slinging Greek president was mad but PAOK fans lit a bonfire in stands when I faced them
Accies ace Tomas says crazy fans burned seats
HAMILTON defender Xavier Tomas admits PAOK Salonika president Ivan Savvidis going on the pitch with a gun is the craziest thing he has seen.
But the Frenchman, who spent three years in Greece with Olympiakos Volou and Levadiakos, wasn’t surprised to see PAOK at the heart of a storm that stunned the football world.
And that’s because their fans once ripped out seats and started a bonfire in the stands when he was playing against them.
The Greek league has been suspended after Savvidis ran on to the field with the weapon in its holster during Sunday’s clash against AEK Athens.
The club’s head was angry after a 90th-minute winner from PAOK’s Fernando Varela was initially disallowed for offside and was flanked by two bodyguards as he attempted to confront ref Giorgios Kominis.
The game was eventually abandoned two hours later after AEK’s players refused to return to the pitch.
The result was later confirmed on the Superleague’s website as a 1-0 win for PAOK with Varela’s goal being allowed to stand.
But that’s all set to change as the Greek FA prepare to hammer both PAOK and Savvidis.
Accies ace Thomas reckons Sunday’s shameful scenes painted the worst possible picture of Greek football.
And he revealed it topped even the madness he saw during his time there. The 32-year-old said: “It is a terrible picture of Greek football. Kids shouldn’t be seeing something as crazy as that.
“I can understand he is angry about a decision but you can’t do something like that.
“I saw a few crazy things in my time there but never anyone with a gun on the pitch. The fans are certainly passionate and live for football. You have to make the difference between hooligans and passionate fans.
“It isn’t the same in Scotland, the fans love the game here but it is different in Greece. I remember a game we played against PAOK at home.
“Their fans ripped out all of the seats from the stands then made a bonfire and set them alight with petrol. It was just crazy.
“The game was delayed for 90 minutes because of the PAOK fans.
“Things like that didn’t worry me. You have to have a strong mind to deal with things like that.”
Thomas is relieved he now plays in Scotland and doesn’t expect to see the same kind of chaos when Accies travel to Dingwall to face Ross County in a crunch relegation battle this weekend.
He said: “My Greek experience was something different. I can’t see anything like that happening at Ross County on Saturday!”