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Greek fans have to go down as the most intense fans in world football, and we don't mean that in a good way. In the Greek Cup semi-final that featured PAOK vs Olympiakos, PAOK midfielder Robert Mak was denied a penalty in the dying minutes of the game after being brought down by the goalkeeper. Then, all hell broke loose.
It appears that Mak was sent off for dissent; a decision that was not appreciated by the home support who stormed the pitch in anger. The game was promptly suspended by the officials. Meanwhile, hundreds of flares were lit in the stands creating a quite literal wall of fire.
This isn't the first time this has happened in a match between these two. In 2014, PAOK vs Olympiakos was put on hold because of a gigantic ring of fire that the fans created inside the stadium. The scenes are absolutely terrifying, but admittedly awe-inspiring.
The Greek league has suffered a lot of setbacks because of scenes like these. The league was suspended three times last year because of fan violence against police and there is no doubt that PAOK will suffer a heavy punishment as a result of this latest incident.
Riot police try and deal with the chaos after PAOK vs Olympiakos Photo: @WSCsm | Twitter
Adding further insult to injury, Olympiakos are awarded an automatic 3-0 victory on account of the match suspension, making PAOK's job in the second leg that much more difficult.
Fireworks are quite traditional in Greece, with the most famous example being the tradition of Rouketopolemos. This tradition takes place on the island of Chios every Easter, and it involves the firing of rockets between two rival churches: St. Marks and Panaghia Ereithiani. The aim is to hit the rival church's bell with as many rockets as possible.
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That goes a little way in explaining scenes likes these. However, once again PAOK vs Olympiakos has reminded us that Greek fans are f***ing crazy.
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