DunfermlineAthleticPAOK

http://www.paokfc.gr/en/news/20180312-dilosi-ivan-savvidi/, "I wish to apologize to all PAOK supporters, Greek fans and the international football community. I am deeply sorry for what happened. I had absolutely no right to enter the pitch the way I did. My emotional reaction stems from the widespread negative situations prevailing in Greek football lately and from all the unacceptable, non sports-related events that took place towards the end of the PAOK – AEK Athens encounter: the actions of the referee and his assistant (goal – offside – goal), the match suspension, the protests and invasion on the pitch by many people from both sides. All that could lead to uncontrollable situations. My only aim was to protect tens of thousands of PAOK fans from provocation, riots and human casualties. Please believe that I had no intention to engage in a brawl with our opponents or the referees. And Ι obviously did not threaten anybody. Unfortunately, my family and I, as well as my colleagues, have been taken hostage by a totally sick football status-quo. Despite the non-stop attacks I am facing on all fronts, I fight and I will continue to fight for fair football, equitable refereeing in all encounters and titles being won on the pitch and not in courtrooms. I would like to apologize once again. PAOK FC President Ivan Savvidis"

PAOK are being made out to be the bogeyman here but the system is so corrupt and has been broken for so long that it had to boil over at some point. TBH when you go back and look at previous incidents, then what happened on Sunday night was nowhere near the worst and I am actually surprised that in years past, clubs have not just gone "whats the point?" and given up totally due to being sick and tired or the same crap every year. Ask yourself what the difference is now in 2018 rather than any of the past 20+ years? In my honest opinion, it's clear why this is getting so much attention and faux outrage. Savvidis has come in and kicked the hornets nest big time and spoiled the equilibrium. God only knows what he was thinking on Sunday night and he deserves to get punished big time to stop things like this happening again. The players and fans should not be punished for this sorry mess. The money men and people with 'power' in Greece have caused this and its been coming for a long time. Funnily enough, up until Olympiakos fans stormed the pitch, this season was passing without major incident and seemed to be fairly contested with games and the league being decided on the pitch. Why anyone would want to be a ref is mystery but especially in Greece. They lost total control with the farcical way they handled the situation.They are over dramatic and get far too animated which only makes it worse. Saying that, the way AEK's players and bench reacted was pretty disgraceful referees need to be more decisive and stronger mentally... i guess it's easier said than done though.

Well said.. take a bow.

JVC just F*** off, seriously. You are a joke. Just take off your Athens tinted glasses for one min! Greece and the Decades of cheeting is what has driven things this madness. Savvidis seems to have lost it and his actions screem of being too close to putin for too long

What the @@@@ has savvidis done....

Thanks Pash! Got it now.

Does anyone have a link? Even for the official one as I can’t find it ?

I wanted biseswar to start.

Agree with what JVC, klaous and aekaraCLE have just said. May the best team win

Chill out mate, I am saying the way you and other teams fans were acting as pathetic. Im sorry but saying things like we are the ‘gavroi of the north’ and We don’t deserve to win the league because our fans get into bother from time to time is a joke and pretty desperate. This is the problem with Greek football. The best team does not always win and the teams fortunes are determined by courts and off the field incidents.. it’s not fair and it’s not right on a sporting level.

JVC and AEK fans losing their sh1t here. It’s pathetic and quite sad to see. You lot have had control for so long that you can’t even see the truth. We SHOULD have 6 more points!!! If you cannot beat PAOK on sporting merit then tough sh1t. Imagine celebrating winning a league because the best team got points taken away?...it’s pathetic!! “Gavri of the north” hahaa i honestly think you are an Olympiakos fan.. if not then you have Stockholm syndrome and you need help.

Possibly the most ridiculous thing written so far. So league championships should not be won on sporting merit but on which club's fans behave the best? Why not look at arrests per game and then award points accordingly? PAOK have the best starting 11, the best squad, we have scored the most goals, we have won the most games and collected the most points... and on sporting merit are (should be) top of the league. Although we will never know know, most peoples honest assumption would be that we would have destroyed Olympiacos to go even further clear. If that had happened, then i suspect that the disaster in Tripoli would have never taken place. To consider all of that and then say AEK deserve to win as they haven't had major controversy surrounding their fans is frankly mental. It just reinforces the perception (reality?) that the the 'big' 3 in Athens/Piraeus will always stick together and be against us no matter what.

Has he just said he is an ARIS fan? Adds a bit more weight to his opinion surely. I hope Garcia feel utterly ashamed and embarrassed.. biting his own lip and walking around in a neck brace!!

Makis Gagatsis is going for it! As i said earlier, this reminds me of 'Blood Gate' in rugby, and I believe that this will be proven to be the case.

So our Lawyers have asked for the hearing to be put on hold so they have time to examine the new 'evidence', as they were not expecting the extra Refs Match report? Also it seems they are calling for Garcia to appear for questioning.

Ah OK, I didn't realise the match Dr was an employee of PAOK. I thought he may have been a neutral, private Dr that is appointed by EPO/Super League

Thanks for the link pash. This is not good news.. but surely the fact that the match DR said he was fine, was refused entry to the changing room for 15 mins (along with all the other stuff) negates this?

Was hoping there might be live Min by min typed updates by a journalist/paok press officer etc. Ah well, looks like it’s a nervous wait instead.

Is there anywhere I can follow the disciplinary hearing or is it all done in private?

Well, i for one am beginning to get confidant that Olympiacos will get punished here. This reminds me of 'blood gate' in rugby union where a player faked a blood injury to allow for a tactical substitution. He then pressured the club Dr into cutting the inside of his mouth to make it look real and hide the use of blood capsules. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/european-rugby/11276718/Bloodgate-How-the-scandal-unfolded-when-Harlequins-met-Leinster-in-April-2009.html Anyone with half a brain cell can see that they had no intention of playing this match. The fact that they hid him inside the dressing room for 15 mins shows that this was when they caused superficial damage to the lip and/or talked him through what the cover story was going to be etc. Garcia is an absolute disgrace for his actions and he seems like a great for Olympiacos. I just hope that he maybe cracks under the pressure and tells the truth.. i will not hold my breath though. Imagine allowing 30,000 fans to stand in freezing temperatures in the p1ssing rain for hours because you were too scared and morally bankrupt to get beat fair and square. Regardless of the hatred you have for those 30,000 fans, PAOK as a club and team.. Its a pathetic show of cowardice that i am struggling to get me head aground. The super league should be embarrassed that Olympiacos can behave and act like this, it makes a mockery of the league in what could/should have been the pinnacle game of the season. P.S. the above does not excuse the man/idiot that threw the paper in the first place but i think its become clear that if Olympiacos and Garcia were not so intent on cheating then Garcia would have just continued walking to the bench and none of this would have been discussed.

I thought the same as soon as it happened. I don’t believe for a second that a PAOK fan threw it.

Finally back in my the flat. Got caught up in the riots after waiting for over 1 and a half hours I the rain. Absalute maddnees, first full on Greek riot with my fiance and getting tear gassed was a romantic way to spend a Sunday night haha. I’m just numb right now to be honest. I don’t even know what to say.

I cannot believe this.

I can’t stand the way they conduct themselves... absolutely no shame what so ever. Maybe that’s a symptom that comes with being seemingly untouchable and corrupt (institutionally and morally) for so long, but they really are a horrible club. It’s smaks of desperation from them as they slip from ‘power’. With regards to the game, the felling from everyone I have spoken to is that they want a convincing win and to embarrass Olympiacos... nothing else will do. We MUST assert ourselves from the first min and not show any fear. Play with the mentality of champions and I think we can overwhelm them. We are number one and on Sunday we will show that.

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone. I have been reading the forum for a 2 or 3 years now so i’m glad I can now get involved. Well, finally arrived last night. 18 hrs from Edinburgh airport to krinides.. 3 taxis, 2 planes and a bus! I have got the ticket in hand as well so that’s one less thing to worry about. I cannot wait for Sunday and being in Gate 4 will be special. Pash, haha I hope your cousin enjoyed edinburgh. Interesting fact, It’s self titled the “Athens of the north” do to the Greek influence on architecture and culture. Blackhawk, do you want me to change my display name? I can go with something shorter if need be and I looked on my profile but I assume admin would have to change it?