It has been billed as "Europe's craziest derby," and of course, Sunday's clash between Olympiacos and Panathinaikos lived up to its reputation.
But the circumstances that led to the cancellation of the Greek Super League match between the two rivals on Sunday will now have serious consequences. With the score at 1-1, outside defender Juankar was hit with firecrackers thrown onto the field by home Olympiacos fans.
The Spanish left-back fell to the ground before the medical vehicle arrived. He was then taken to the hospital as players from both teams entered the locker room. Fans stayed in the hope that the match would eventually resume.
However, after more than 60 minutes of delay, it seemed that Panathinaikos players refused to return to the field. On social networks, the club confirmed: “An hour has passed since the derby was suspended.
Our team is still in the locker room. Around 9:30 p.m., about three hours after the match had started, it was announced that the match would indeed continue.
However, the away team reportedly refused to return even though their opponents, whose players remained on the field about 30 minutes after the incident, were preparing to play.
In the end, due to a lack of agreement between the two teams, the organizers abandoned the match. And another message from the club said they were happy to let the authorities decide the result: "The referee has closed the scoreboard, and the fate of the match will be decided in court.
"The story opens after Mady Camara leveled the match for Olympiakos. Georgios Vagiannidis gave Panathinaikos an early lead when the away team needed a win to return to level points with their top opponents.
However, problems related to electric lights are not new. In 2019, the clash was also abandoned after Panathinaikos supporters attacked opposition players, making their way towards the sidelines before police intervened.
The match only continued when violent scenes continued to take place between fans outside the field. The match was eventually abandoned after 70 minutes after some fans burned banners.