Following issues during a European football match in Bruges, Greek football club PAOK Saloniki filed a complaint with UEFA and the Greek embassy in Belgium for "instances of unprecedented and indiscriminate hatred towards Greeks in the city of Bruges by local authorities."
Before and after the European match between Club Brugge and the Greek PAOK, skirmishes happened between the Greek supporters and the police, resulting in several people being injured. Now, the Greek club announced that it is filing a complaint against the police.
"The Belgian police arbitrarily arrested people with valid tickets, who were then not allowed to enter the stadium, used tear gas and water pumps against supporters who were picnicking, but also used blind violence when our fans left the stadium," a statement on PAOK Saloniki's website reads.
'Insanity'
"The Belgian authorities have blown away all notions of hospitality and safety rules," they said, adding that all of this took place in front of eyewitnesses the three emissaries of the Greek Police.
"In view of the second leg, we expect the exemplary punishment of those responsible for the suffering caused to our fans and the full restoration and moral compensation of those who suffered damage unjustly," the statement continued. "We also expect our colleagues from Club Brugge to condemn the largely racist behaviour of the Belgian police who treated the Greeks visiting the city as criminals by default."
They added that the Greek fans should be "congratulated for keeping their cool" after what they went through, and expressed their regret that some fans who purchased tickets could not attend the match "due to the insanity of the Belgian police."
Some 2,000 PAOK Saloniki fans had travelled from Greece to Bruges for the match against Club Brugge in the Europa Conference League on Thursday evening. While everything was calm during the day, troubles started towards the evening when hundreds of Greek supporters suddenly walked straight to the stadium – against the agreements.
The police could not stop them. Some 500 fans who did not have a ticket but still tried to get into the stadium were part of that group, according to the spokesperson for the Bruges police Lien Depoorter. "The fact that the Greeks are now submitting a complaint themselves is particularly surprising. We did not arbitrarily prevent supporters with a ticket from entering the stadium," she told VRT.
Depoorter explained that the ticket controls had not yet opened at that time and the pressure became too great. "To create space and push back the crowd, we were forced to use the water cannon. A number of fans still managed to get in."
Credit: PAOK
According to several visiting supporters, it was reported in the Greek press that tickets would become available on the evening of the match itself, De Standaards reports. While this is possible in theory, it almost never happens for visitors during a European home match of Club Brugge in practice.
Hundreds of Greek fans also gathered in the visitors' car park in the hope of getting in, where dozens of officers from the riot police intervened strongly several times. When the away section (with a capacity of 1,500 fans) was full, the gates were closed – leading to a number of fans with valid tickets no longer being allowed in either.
"The fault of their fellow supporters, because full is full," said Depoorter. "The fact that some people with tickets unfortunately had to leave at the last minute is entirely due to their fellow supporters without a ticket who did everything they could to force their way into the stadium."
'Full is full'
After the kick-off, calm returned and the police requisitioned the shuttle buses to take all the people who could not get into the stadium back to the city. "People without tickets sat in bars spread across the city to watch the match."
There was still some commotion when the Greek fans left the stadium, but it did not last long. A total of five to six police officers were injured, although the precise balance has yet to be drawn up. It remained calm in the city centre of Bruges during the rest of the night.
At PAOK Saloniki, however, they make a different assessment: the club is still filing a complaint with UEFA and the Greek embassy in Belgium.
"If the Greeks, with all the litter and havoc they left behind in the city centre, now actually claim that they were just having a picnic, then that certainly raises eyebrows," the police said. Now, they are awaiting PAOK Saloniki's complaint and only then will respond "in due time and according to the rules."
Bruges Mayor Dirk De fauw (CD&V) finds it strange that the Greek club is filing a complaint with UEFA, because the actions of the police do not fall under the responsibility of UEFA. As head of the police, he supports his force: "I do not think our police have acted in a racist way in any way."
The match ended in 1-0 for Club Brugge. The second leg will be played in Thessaloniki on Thursday 18 April.
