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Murder of Michalis Katsouris

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Michalis Katsouris
Born
Michail Katsouris

1994
Athens, Greece
Died7 August 2023 (aged 29)
Nea Filadelfia, Greece

Michalis Katsouris (Greek: Μιχάλης Κατσούρης; 1994 – 7 August 2023) was murdered during hooligan riots between a joint coalition of Bad Blue Boys of Dinamo Zagreb and Gate 13 of Panathinaikos[1][2] who engaged in conflict[3][4][5] with AEK Athens supporters.[6][7]

Murder of Michalis Katsouris
LocationNea Filadelfia, Greece
Date7 August 2023
Attack type
Stabbing
WeaponsKnives, clubs
Deaths1
VictimMichalis Katsouris
PerpetratorsUnknown
AssailantsBad Blue Boys, Gate 13, Original 21[8]
No. of participants
Around 300 people

Background

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The murder occurred during riots in which a group of Dinamo Zagreb's supporters, Bad Blue Boys, arrived to Nea Filadelphia, Greece, in spite of UEFA's ban and attacked AEK Athens fans with the help of local Gate 13 supporters with whom they share friendly relations. Bad Blue Boys managed to enter Greece despite warnings sent to the Greek authorities by the Croatian, Montenegrin and Albanian police. Once in Athens, some 150 Bad Blue Boys met with Gate 13 supporters and proceeded to AEK Athens stadium where the clash with AEK supporters took place.[9] During the course of the riots AEK fan Michalis Katsouris was fatally stabbed in his arm and bled out as a result.[9] The Greek police chased down the hooligans suspected for participating in the riots and eventually managed to arrest 105 individuals, most of whom were Croatian nationals.[10] Due to the events which unfolded, the planned third qualifying round match of UEFA Champions League between Dinamo Zagreb and AEK Athens was postponed.[11]

Investigation

[edit]

The Greek police eventually established 5 individuals whom they considered the main suspects for the murder. Out of these, there was one Croatian, one Albanian and three Greeks citizens.[12] According to the Greek news site Newsita, knives were found with suspected Croat and Albanian citizen.[13] On 11 August, the first group of detainees was brought before a local judge, and the court hearings continued throughout the weekend.[14][15] All of the detainees were kept in custody[16] and by Sunday, 13 August were distributed throughout sixteen different prisons in Greece.[17] The treatment of detainees by the Greek state was criticized by the human rights activist Žarko Puhovski who claimed their human rights were brought into question.[18] According to the Croatian news site Gol.hr, referring to the information published by Greek site News 24/7, some 24 hours after the hooligan clash, Greek police received a tip about a weapons stash hidden near AEK stadium. The police soon confiscated these objects which included various clubs.[19] On 14 August, a video was published showing CCTV footage of the clash. The footage shows a moment when Katsouris was hit by an unknown hooligan in his right arm, using a club-like object.[20] On the same day, Croatian weekly Nacional referring to the Greek police report, wrote that the clash between two parties was arranged in advance.[21] According to the same report, Bad Blue Boys were led by their two senior leaders who managed to escape, leaving younger group members on their own.[22] [23] Panathinaikos fans theorized that the death of Michalis was from an accidental stabbing by a fellow AEK fan a few days following the event. This was debunked on 20 October when an 81 page document showing exactly where Michalis was attacked was published.[24] On 22 December, all arrested suspects were let free.[citation needed]

Reactions

[edit]

Upon learning about what happened to her son, mother of Michalis Katsouris suffered a heart attack.[25] Seven high ranking officials of Greek police were subsequently sacked for failing to act.[26] Greek minister Ioannis Oikonomou stated that "although police quickly apprehended the hooligans, they failed to prevent the attack and proved that they are not capable for challenges such as this".[26] Greek police syndicate representative further criticized the police action and claimed that police services had attackers licence plates and were tipped about their arrival, but some people did not even open the documents delivered to them.[27]

One day after the event, on 8 August, AEK Athens issued a press release in which they claimed that their fan was killed by “professional killers, organised criminals who crossed the country and arrived in New Philadelphia from Zagreb to join forces here with Greek criminal accomplices with the sole purpose of killing”.[28] Dinamo Zagreb also "condemned the incident and expressed their condolences to the family of a fan who lost his life".[29] They also wrote that: “Such events are not in line with the values and ethics we promote as a club and community”.[28] Next day, AEK asked UEFA to kick Dinamo Zagreb out of the competition by saying: "How is it possible that after barbaric murder of Michalis Katsuris done by a band of Criminals from Croatia, we can go on the field and play against this particular team?" They went on by claiming: "those who came here to kill", make integral part of the organization against which AEK Athens needs to play.[30] In response, Dinamo Zagreb issued their own press release in which they described AEK's demand as inappropriate, claiming that "AEK rises the tensions by using inappropriate, aggressive and mongering language with goal of pressuring UEFA." They further wrote that: "[AEK is trying] to use a human tragedy [...] for its own promotion which shows lack of elementary decency, piety and empathy towards the victim."[31] On 11 August, UEFA announced that their president Aleksandar Čeferin will visit Athens in order to consult with Greek prime minister and representatives of AEK, Olympiakos, PAOK and Panathinaikos.[32] During his visit to Athens, Čeferin described hooligans as "cancer of the football".[33]

On 9 August, both mayors of Athens, Kostas Bakoyannis and his Zagreb counterpart, Tomislav Tomašević issued a common statement in which they said that they: "strongly condemn this terrible crime which culminated in a loss of young life and a sad episode of hooliganism which compromised lives of innocent citizens and kids." They concluded that: "violence has no nationality" and "its only homeland is hate".[34]

On 14 August, Dinamo Zagreb manager, Igor Bišćan expressed his condolences to the family of deceased fan.[35]

Ramifications

[edit]

One day after the murder, on 8 August, Greek journalist Giorgos Mazias issued a warning to Croatian tourists in Greece. He said that media, social networks and public are about to create the climate of intolerance towards Dinamo, their fans and Croatians in general. He therefore called all Croatians in Greece to camouflage themselves and not reveal their origin.[36] On the same day Nova TV's news team in Athens got attacked by angry locals. Upon realising that the reporters were Croatian, locals surrounded them and demanded them to hand over their camera, eventually taking only their memory card.[37] On 11 August, Croatian actor Rene Bitorajac published on Instagram that Greek news wrongly portrayed him as a football hooligan by showing scenes from Croatian feature film Metastases in their news.[38] Few days later, Bitorajac published vulgar threats he started to receive from angry Greeks as a result.[39][40]

See also

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References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Novi detalji: Među uhićenima je huligan Panathinaikosa koji je visoko na listi osumnjičenih za ubojstvo". Gol.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 13 August 2023. Kao što je otprije poznato, tri huligana iz redova grupe GATE 13, koja je u prijateljskim odnosima s BBB-ima, uhićeno je zajedno sa stotinjak kolega im iz Hrvatske.

    Riječ je o 26-godišnjaku i 27-godišnjaku iz obližnjeg Marousija te 22-godišnjaku iz Nee Smirne. Jedan od njih već je dobro poznat pravosuđu.

    Oni su prema mišljenju policije vodili BBB-e do kvarta Nea Fildelfija, gdje se nalaze stadion i poprište sukoba, te također sudjelovali u okršaju s huliganima iz redova AEK-a.
  2. ^ "VIDEO Hrvatski i grčki navijači rade kaos po Ateni: Sve bi to Dinamo moglo skupo koštati". www.vecernji.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 13 August 2023. U glavom gradu Grčke, nalazi se oko dvije stotine Bad Blue Boysa, a prema pisanju grčkih medija, pridružila im se i skupina navijača Panathinaikosa, Gate 13. Ispred stadiona u grčkoj izbili su neredi, a jedan je muškarac izboden oštrim predmetom i preminuo je
  3. ^ "Grčka policija pronašla oružje AEK-ovih huligana i dokaz da su bili spremni za nerede s Boysima". www.vecernji.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 21 August 2023. ...to učvršćuje uvjerenje policijskih službenika koji istražuju slučaj, da je nekolicina organiziranih navijača AEK-a sasvim sigurno spremala huliganski sukob te da su vođe navijačke skupine Originals 21 očekivali takav ishod i pripremili se u skladu s tim (nešto što naravno što od strane AEK-a negiraju).
  4. ^ "Jutarnji list - Pojavila se nova snimka krvavih sukoba u Ateni: 'Ovo je dokaz da je sve bilo dogovoreno...'". www.jutarnji.hr (in Croatian). 13 August 2023. Retrieved 21 August 2023. Iako Grci tvrde da se radilo o iznenadnom napadu BBB-a na domaće navijače, nakon najnovijih snimki mnogi komentatori pišu kako je sve više dokaza da je sukob huligana u Grčkoj bio dogovoren.
  5. ^ Jelusic, Andrej (14 August 2023). "Nacional: Obračun navijača bio dogovoren, znaju se organizatori. Oni su pobjegli". N1 (in Croatian). Retrieved 21 August 2023. Nacionalov izvor iz policije tvrdi kako je to bila dogovorena tučnjava.
  6. ^ "Greek magistrates grill suspects over fan killing". France 24. 11 August 2023. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  7. ^ "Funeral held for fan killed in Athens attack. UEFA President Ceferin to meet Greek PM". AP News. 11 August 2023. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  8. ^ "VIDEO Hrvatski i grčki navijači rade kaos po Ateni: Sve bi to Dinamo moglo skupo koštati". www.vecernji.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 13 August 2023. U glavom gradu Grčke, nalazi se oko dvije stotine Bad Blue Boysa, a prema pisanju grčkih medija, pridružila im se i skupina navijača Panathinaikosa, Gate 13. Ispred stadiona u grčkoj izbili su neredi, a jedan je muškarac izboden oštrim predmetom i preminuo je
  9. ^ a b "Grci objavili video: "Trenutak kada hrvatski huligani nesmetano ulaze u podzemnu"". Gol.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  10. ^ "Grčka policija suzila broj osumnjičenih na pet huligana, samo je jedan od njih Hrvat". Gol.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  11. ^ "Champions League: AEK Athens-Dinamo Zagreb qualifier postponed after fan killed". BBC News. 8 August 2023. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  12. ^ "Jutarnji list - Huligani izlaze pred suca: Glavni osumnjičeni za Michalisovo ubojstvo su Hrvat, Albanac i tri Grka". www.jutarnji.hr (in Croatian). 11 August 2023. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  13. ^ "Svi koji su izašli pred suca u istražnom su zatvoru. Odvjetnik najavio: 'Tražit ćemo izuzeće osvetoljubivog suca!'". www.vecernji.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  14. ^ "Događa se ono što je odvjetnik najavio: Još 13 osumnjičenih poslano u istražni zatvor". www.vecernji.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  15. ^ "Svi koji su izašli pred suca u istražnom su zatvoru. Odvjetnik najavio: 'Tražit ćemo izuzeće osvetoljubivog suca!'". www.vecernji.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  16. ^ "Svi koji su izašli pred suca u istražnom su zatvoru. Odvjetnik najavio: 'Tražit ćemo izuzeće osvetoljubivog suca!'". www.vecernji.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  17. ^ "Hrvatima određen pritvor, idu u čak 16 različitih zatvora. Grčka vlada poslala poruku Milanoviću". tportal.hr. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  18. ^ Papic, Mateja (14 August 2023). "Puhovski: Skandalozno je kako se Grčka ponaša. Hrvati će dobiti batine u zatvoru". N1 (in Croatian). Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  19. ^ "Grčka policija dobila zanimljivu dojavu: Evo što su pronašli na poprištu sukoba u Ateni". Gol.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  20. ^ "Jutarnji list - 'Identificirali smo što ubojica Michalisa (29) ima na vratu! Evo tko je sada osumnjičen...'". www.jutarnji.hr (in Croatian). 15 August 2023. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  21. ^ Jelusic, Andrej (14 August 2023). "Nacional: Obračun navijača bio dogovoren, znaju se organizatori. Oni su pobjegli". N1 (in Croatian). Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  22. ^ Jelusic, Andrej (14 August 2023). "Nacional: Obračun navijača bio dogovoren, znaju se organizatori. Oni su pobjegli". N1 (in Croatian). Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  23. ^ "Αποκάλυψη: Το έγγραφο της ΕΛ.ΑΣ. που δείχνει το σημείο δολοφονίας του Μιχάλη από Κροάτη χούλιγκαν". in.gr (in Greek). 20 October 2023. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  24. ^ "Αποκάλυψη: Το έγγραφο της ΕΛ.ΑΣ. που δείχνει το σημείο δολοφονίας του Μιχάλη από Κροάτη χούλιγκαν". in.gr (in Greek). 20 October 2023. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  25. ^ Kunić, Esmir (8 August 2023). "Majka nastradalog navijača AEK-a imala srčani udar". N1 (in Bosnian). Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  26. ^ a b "Slobodna Dalmacija - Nakon nereda i tragedije u Ateni, smijenjeno cijelo vodstvo grčke policije: 'Nemam riječi za takav propust'". slobodnadalmacija.hr (in Croatian). 8 August 2023. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  27. ^ ""Policija je znala i registracije, a dokumente s upozorenjima nitko nije otvorio"". Hrvatska radiotelevizija. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  28. ^ a b "UEFA postpones AEK Athens-Dinamo Zagreb match after fan killed in brawl". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  29. ^ "Sportske novosti - Žestoka osuda iz Dinama: 'Izražavamo svoju duboku zabrinutost zbog incidenta i sućut obitelji preminulog'". sportske.jutarnji.hr (in Croatian). 8 August 2023. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  30. ^ "AEK traži isključenje Dinama, uhapšeno još pet hrvatskih navijača". balkans.aljazeera.net (in Bosnian). Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  31. ^ "Sportske novosti - Oštro priopćenje iz Maksimira: 'Nikome nećemo dati da se monstruozno poigrava s Dinamom'". sportske.jutarnji.hr (in Croatian). 9 August 2023. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  32. ^ "UEFA se oglasila o neredima u Ateni, Čeferin ide u Grčku na sastanak". www.index.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  33. ^ "Prvi čovjek Uefe nije se suzdržao: Tužni smo i bijesni, vi ste rak nogometa". tportal.hr. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  34. ^ "Tomašević i gradonačelnik Atene: Brutalnom nasilju i krvi nema mjesta na našim stadionima, našim gradovima..." www.vecernji.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  35. ^ "VIDEO Bišćan: 'Izražavam sućut obitelji poginulog. Suosjećam sa svima koji trpe posljedice'". www.vecernji.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  36. ^ "Jutarnji list - Uznemirujuća poruka grčkih medija: 'Ako ste Hrvat i ljetujete u Grčkoj, dobro to sakrijte...'". www.jutarnji.hr (in Croatian). 8 August 2023. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  37. ^ "VIDEO Nove informacije iz Atene: Policija ima otiske ubojice, navodno se radi o grčkom državljaninu". Gol.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  38. ^ "Grčki mediji napravili veliki gaf: Poznati hrvatski glumac prikazan kao huligan koji je došao u Atenu". Gol.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  39. ^ "Grčki navijači prijete našem glumcu: "Hrvatsko govno! Platit ćeš za ubojstvo u Ateni"". Dnevnik.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  40. ^ "Jutarnji list - Grci prijete našem poznatom glumcu nakon priloga na njihovoj televiziji, šalju mu strahovite poruke: 'Govno, platit ćeš!'". www.jutarnji.hr (in Croatian). 13 August 2023. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
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