Gun-wielding PAOK owner apologies after pitch invasion

Ivan Savvidis, who was pictured carrying a gun in a holster when he marched on to the pitch during a Greek Super League match, said he is “deeply sorry” for his role in the chaotic scenes that led to PAOK’s game against AEK Athens being abandoned.

The Russian oligarch and PAOK owner intervened following a disallowed PAOK goal in the 89th minute. As a result Greece’s Superleague, which has been blighted by crowd trouble, has been suspended.

“I am deeply sorry for what happened,” Savvidis said in a statement on PAOK’s website. “I had absolutely no right to enter the pitch the way I did. My emotional reaction stems from the widespread negative situations prevailing in Greek football lately and from all the unacceptable, non sports-related events that took place towards the end of the PAOK-AEK Athens encounter: the actions of the referee and his assistant, the match suspension, the protests and invasion on the pitch by many people from both sides.

“All that could lead to uncontrollable situations. My only aim was to protect tens of thousands of PAOK fans from provocation, riots and casualties. Please believe I had no intention to engage in a brawl with our opponents or the referees. And I obviously did not threaten anybody.”

Greece’s top division has opposed Superleague’s suspension, saying it threatened the clubs’ existence. The Superleague president, Giorgos Stratos, said: “It creates a grave danger and we are possibly moving away from our aims and objectives. The suspension does not benefit anyone or anything. The suspension cancels out anything positive that has been done. The suspension endangers the entire sport of football beyond the financial consequences.”

Stratos has asked for the “quickest possible resumption” of matches but no date had been decided.

A Thessaloniki prosecutor has ordered a judicial investigation into Sunday’s incidents.