Referees to abstain from upcoming Super League and Greek Cup games

Following an attack to the property of Angelos Evangelou, referees have made the decision to abstain from upcoming Super League and Greek Cup matches.

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On Sunday, Olympiacos were held to a 0-0 draw by Volos NFC at the Panthessaliko Stadium, with the Piraeus-based organisation now trailing first-placed PAOK by two points after 16 rounds of the Super League. In the first half, Hillal Soudani thought he had given Olympiacos the lead, but his goal was controversially disallowed for offside. 

After the Volos - Olympiacos game ended, an attack was carried out on the home of Angelos Evangelou, who had been working as the video assistant referee (VAR) during the match in question. These following pictures clearly display the damage done to Evangelou’s windows:

Referees of the Super League have now confirmed that starting from the 17th round of the season, which was scheduled to take place between January 4-5, they will abstain from all matches. This also concerns the Greek Cup.

Incidentally, on matchday 17, the Olympiacos - Panathinaikos and PAOK - Aris rivalries were due to be played.

Matches of the Last 16 of the Greek Cup was penciled in for January 7-9 and 14-16.

Yesterday, the Refereeing Department also announced that all referees and VAR operators who worked over the Lamia - AEK and Volos - Olympiacos matches are to be temporarily suspended from Super League action as a result of their poor performances. AEK felt that they were denied a clear penalty in their match against Lamia on Saturday.

Olympiacos have also decided to take all referees, included those who were in charge of the VAR system, to court over the incident against Volos. The Erythrolefki believe that the officials purposely fixed the outcome of the game.

Following the completion of their match against Volos, Olympiacos subsequently engaged in a war of words with PAOK, accusing the Dikefalos tou Vorra of rigging the Super League. Volos, for their part, pointed out past matches which Olympiacos won purely on the basis of dreadful decisions made by the referees.

Deputy Minister of Sport and Culture, Lefteris Avgenakis, is now reportedly preparing to call a halt to the Super League season until solutions to the existing problems are found. Super League referees have said, unanimously, that they won’t return to work until their safety can be guaranteed.

by Shaun Nicolaides

Image Source: sportfm.gr

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