The Greek Super League on Wednesday indefinitely suspended matches in the country’s professional football league, part of an attempt to crackdown on hooliganism. The decision was taken following a pitch invasion prior to a local derby on Tuesday between Ethnikos Piraeus and Irodotos, which ended in a brawl.

Greece’s Sports Minister Stavros Kontonis met with Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Wednesday to discuss the situation, followed by a meeting with Super League President Giorgos Borovilos.

“We have a new government who are looking to bring this subject up for discussion and implement state laws related to it,” said Borovilos following his announcement for the indefinite suspension of games. “The government wants games to start again as soon as possible, but for that they want to see immediate reactions from all of us. There will be further discussions between ourselves, the board of the Hellenic Football Federation and the Football League where we will see how we can build legislative frameworks and implement security measures to ensure football is safe.”

Football clubs react against decision

Football fans had a negative reception to the news, even though Kontonis stressed that the decision concerns Super League matches. There is interest as to whether the Greek Cup that includes a showdown between AEK and Olympiacos will take place. Olympiacos’ match on Monday with Astera Tripolis is also up in the air.

Olympiacos disagrees with the suspension. The team does not believed that it should be punished for the incident. PAOK Thessaloniki also issued an announcement agreeing that the state is moving in the right direction in intervening, however, the nature of the intervention was not viewed favourably. The team would rather see the state specifically punish those behind the violence.