AEK handball players from Athens refused to go on the court in the Macedonian capital for the rematch of the final against HC Alkaloid in the EHF Cup Final.
Everything was ready for the start of the final match in Skopje, however, before they took the field, the Greek handball players changed their minds! After a few minutes of staying in the tunnel under the stands, the AEK players completely retreated to the dressing room.
Because of this, the official announcer announced that the start of the game was postponed.
According to unofficial information, Greek handball players refused to play until AEK fans were allowed into the hall. On the other hand this “incident” appears to have been prepared well in advance, ever since AEK Athens lost in Athens. Around 400 Greek hooligans came to the Macedonian capital and clashed with AEK club’s owner at the Aleksandar Palace Hotel, threatening him to make sure 400 fans are allowed to enter despite the fact they had only 200 tickets! AEK Athens’ president ordered his players not to play the match, until allegedly all fans were admitted into the hall.
AEK Athens is well known for its scandals, just last year the Greek club quit their match and forced Serbia’s Partizan to play their rematch in Bulgaria because of a coin that was tossed onto the floor by fans. There was no coins this time and AEK Athens once again marred in scandals. The Greek Club is once again creating a scandal in an attempt to gain something out of it.
EHF Problems
This latest fiasco has further tarnished the EHF as an organization at a time when the Olympic Committee is planning to vote on banning handball as a sport in the Olympic games. The Olympic Committee believes there are too many “scandals and corruption” tied with the sport, in particularly the EHF.
Will the EHF once again allow this insanity to continue? A club can simply refuse to play for any reason in a European Final? This wouldn’t happen even in amateur sports, let alone a Cup Final! The EHF should fine and suspend AEK Athens, and not tolerate this if they plan on being taken seriously as a sport.
AEK Athens
Absolut shame for the Greek club and their dirty tactics. They were well aware of their inability to beat the Macedonian club, it’s why they lost in Athens by 4 goals. The fact that AEK stooped down to this level and refused to play, ought to be sanctioned very harshly. We feel for the AEK players who wanted to play but were not allowed by their owner, Stamatis Papastamatis who should be banned from holding a function in any sport.
