Greek football club owner banned for 3 years over pitch invasion with gun

ATHENS – Agence France-Presse

The owner of Greek club PAOK has been banned for three years after storming onto the pitch with a holstered gun on his belt, league organizers said.

PAOK was also docked three points and fined for Ivan Savvidis’ actions, meaning it drops to third place in a tight championship race with AEK and Olympiakos.

The ruling, which also includes a 100,000-euro ($123,000) fine for Greek-Russian businessman Savvidis and a separate 63,000-euro fine for PAOK, is open to appeal.

Also on March 29, the monitoring committee of global football body FIFA recommended the immediate suspension of Greece’s football federation, according to a letter leaked to Greek media.

The Greek league will resume on March 31 after being suspended on March 12 in the wake of the Savvidis incident.

The clubs have agreed to a list of government demands, including point deductions and automatic relegation for clubs responsible for violence.