Ivan Savvidis, the controversial president of populer Greek football club, PAOK Salonika, has apologized for barging into the pitch during a Greek Superleague game on Sunday while arming himself with a gun.
Savvidis entered the headlines when he was spotted on the field with a holstered weapon during his team’s clash against AEK Athens, Savvadis entered the pitch to protest after a last minute goal from PAOK’s Fernando Varela was initially disallowed for offside.
Savvadis headed straight for the referee, Giorgios Kominis and the game was eventually abandoned two hours later after AEK players refused to return to the pitch.
The result was later confirmed on the Superleague’s website as a 1-0 win for PAOK, with Varela’s goal being allowed to stand.
After the shocking incident, all matches in the Greek Superleague were indefinitely suspended, with deputy sports minister Giorgos Vassiliadis confirming the ban after speaking with the prime minister, Alexis Tsipras.
In his apology, Savvidis said: “I want to apologize to all the fans of PAOK, all Greek fans, the global football community. I am very sorry for what happened. Clearly I did not have the right to go out on the pitch in this way.
“My emotional reaction has been caused by the generalised negative situation prevailing in Greek football lately and by all the unacceptable, non-athletic events that took place towards the end of the PAOK-AEK – the actions of the referee and the supervisor (goal – offside – goal), the interruption of the match, the protests and the entry into the playing field of dozens of people of both teams.” he concluded.
Photo Credit: Getty
