European soccer's governing body UEFA needs to take a more active role in efforts to fix troubled Greek football, Panathinaikos president Giannis Alafouzos said on Thursday, days after a Greek fan died in clashes with Dinamo Zagreb fans.Greek football has been plagued by violence, corruption and rigged ma
European soccer's governing body UEFA needs to take a more active role in efforts to fix troubled Greek football, Panathinaikos president Giannis Alafouzos said on Thursday, days after a Greek fan died in clashes with Dinamo Zagreb fans.
The sport suffered another major setback last week with the death of the AEK Athens supporter, prompting the latest government-led meeting on football on Wednesday with the heads of the country's four big clubs - Panathinaikos, AEK, PAOK and Olympiakos Piraeus - plus UEFA boss Aleksander Ceferin present.
"I was very happy they took the time to get involved with the problems a small country has with football. That was a very good sign," he added in an interview.Alafouzos welcomed the government's decision for police to take over security outside stadiums from private firms. More than 100 people, most of them Croatian citizens, have been charged with a number of felonies and have been detained pending trial over the clashes that led to 29-year-old Michalis Katsouris being stabbed to death near the AEK stadium.Alafouzos would have wanted to focus on his team's Champions League third qualifying round win over Olympique de Marseille that put them in a two-legged playoff against Braga for a spot in the lucrative group stage which they last reached in 2011.