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Post by Football News on Mar 12, 2015 0:22:03 GMT
AEK Athens v Olympiakos quarter-final abandoned due to pitch invasion• 20 AEK fans ran on to pitch in highly charged derby • Greek League only resumed last week after crowd violence  AEK's fans hold flares during the start of the Greek Cup quarter-final against Olympiakos. The Greek Cup quarter-final between AEK Athens and Olympiakos Piraeus was abandoned after a pitch invasion by supporters on Wednesday as the country’s turbulent football season continued. A group of around 20 AEK fans ran on to the pitch and threw objects at players and police moments after their team fell 1-0 down in the second leg to Franco Jara’s 89th-minute goal for Olympiakos. The visiting players immediately left the pitch and were soon followed by the match officials and AEK players as police moved in to restore order. Just over half an hour later officials announced that the game would not resume and Olympiakos will progress to the semi-finals automatically. The Greek Super League resumed only last weekend with matches played behind closed doors following a one-week suspension due to persistent crowd trouble. AEK, who lead Greece’s second tier, now face the threat of a three-point deduction which is the disciplinary penalty for a game being abandoned due to a pitch invasion. A capacity crowd of 65,000 packed into the Olympic Stadium for the derby, the first high-profile match watched by fans since the Super League resumed last weekend with games played behind closed doors. The league was suspended on 26 February due to persistent crowd trouble and after a Super League board meeting ended in a brawl. Greece’s recently elected Syriza government has said it is determined to stamp out soccer crowd violence. Guardian
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