published on June 09, 2024 in celeb

Alkis Kampanos, a 19-year-old Greek football fan murdered for supporting the wrong team

Tears stream onto the steps of a high-rise apartment block as an elderly man drops to his knees in despair.

Trembling, he shouts “Pote xana” (“Never again”) before a passer-by softly places a hand on his shoulder in support.

Neither man knew Alkis Kampanos, the 19-year-old who was stabbed and viciously beaten to death by football hooligans in a chilling, unprovoked attack in the very spot of the Charilaou area of Thessaloniki, Greece, where they are now standing.

But like the rest of the hurting nation, they have become “Alkis supporters” after listening to the brave and powerful words of the teenager’s parents, who have called for “reunification and not division” following his murder by thugs from a nearby gang.

On February 1, Alkis was killed when supporters attached to the hooligan section of Thessaloniki-based Super League side PAOK targeted his group.

The university student was socialising with friends, and told his father he’d be back home to study later in the night. In the hours that followed, his group were approached by men who asked which football team they followed.

When they replied “Aris” — the cross-city rivals of PAOK — they were set upon with knives, bats and other weapons.

Two of his friends were injured and required hospital treatment after the attack just metres away from Aris’ Kleanthis Vikelidis Stadium. Alkis was badly beaten and stabbed multiple times in the leg before bleeding out and dying. Neighbours say they heard shouts of “Don’t hit me anymore” and two weeks on, those desperate cries are still ringing in their ears.

Alkis Kampanos’ picture from among the tributes

At the scene where he pleaded for his life, candles continue to burn. Support has stretched far and wide. Next to the yellow and black scarves of Aris are sympathy messages from the wider footballing family. Liverpool and Barcelona colours are represented, among others. Players from rival clubs have placed shirts in memory, and a large section of PAOK supporters are saddened and horrified by the events.

They tell The Athletic they are fed up with the extreme, fanatical, side of Greek football as 11 men have been remanded in custody, with a 12th expected in court on Tuesday.

They are not alone.

Alkis’ father, Aristides, put on a brave face when speaking to Greek television. Sitting next to his wife, Melina, the pair showed incredible strength as they briefly discussed their only child through quivering voices.

Last month, they were living a normal life. Now they are on the national news, heartbroken, and battling through the toughest moment of their lives. Both called for an end to the troubles around football violence, and they were joined by other parents, who marched through Thessaloniki demanding the same.

Aristides said, “I will live in my pain until I die,” before asking a question so many others want to be answered: “How can this happen over a soccer team?”

That Alkis was not involved in organised fan activity has left a nation reeling. Thessaloniki in particular is still bubbling with emotion. There’s sadness that an innocent student has been killed without a reason and anger that such incidents are taking place. There’s also fear on the streets about what could happen next — the killing wasn’t even on a match day and Aris are at home to PAOK this Sunday with tensions high.

When paying his respects, a local father-of-two named George says he has already ordered his son not to wear an Aris shirt out in public. He says he is not alone. A teenage girl is too frightened to reveal her identity as she confirms only that she knew Alkis from university when laying flowers at the scene. A letter she leaves reads: “Even though you lost your life for no reason, Alkis, your death will help the world stop fighting around football.”

Not everyone is so sure about that. Some people who have watched on painfully as football violence continues to grow in Greece point to bad parenting as the root cause. Rising debt and a 13.3 per cent unemployment rate across the country are also seen as contributing factors. Some suggest that youngsters get involved with gangs because they believe it will bring them wealth at a time when money is short.

A local construction worker, Theo, says he used to “enjoy” fighting at football games when he was younger but has been strongly against it for years. He lights a candle in memory of Alkis after a friend with knowledge revealed some gruesome details from the fatal night that have hit him hard.

“The problem is, these people would find another reason to kill if it wasn’t for football,” he says, smoking a cigarette and shaking his head in disgust. “It’s just an excuse. These people are extremists. Rival supporters have been fighting for decades, but we didn’t kill before.”

This week, the Greek government has promised a crackdown by including tougher penalties and sentencing guidelines for violent fans in a sports bill heading to parliament. “It is our duty to society and especially to the younger generation, but also to our healthy sports community and the millions of good fans in our country,” said spokesman Giannis Oikonomou when discussing plans to tackle football violence.

Fewer incidents have been recorded over the past fortnight but that’s largely because there’s a limit of 1,000 supporters allowed inside stadiums because of new COVID-19 measures.

“Fan clubs” are identified as a problem in Greece as many hardcore supporters gather at them on a match day to discuss criminal activity. They are essentially old buildings transformed into meeting points for the die-hard and scattered around various cities. Outside, there is graffiti referencing different clubs.

Flowers and tributes where Alkis Kampanos was murdered

Many feel they are a breeding ground for hooligans. Those responsible for Alkis’ killing had connections to different PAOK fan clubs and already police have closed some down. There have been nationwide raids, with officers discovering knives, helmets, fire-crackers, wooden bats, shovels, hammers, even forks. New operating rules are now in place so such clubs can be closed down if they are seen to be promoting violence.

Supporters insist that not every facility is bad, saying fans can still be passionate about their club without causing trouble. On the Facebook page of a PAOK fan club in the Epanomi area of the city, it was confirmed that on February 11 it was “their turn” to prove they had a “clean” office with a legal licence.

Included in the post was a picture of donated items, including clothes and food, that are distributed to the homeless and underprivileged. That fan club didn’t reply to requests asking to discuss its activities further but these actions appear to show a softer side to their role in the community.

In a separate post after Alkis’ murder, the PAOK fan club added: “This whole cycle of fan violence should have ended yesterday. We take on part of the responsibility that concerns us. We are united by worship for our teams, we face the same problems in our everyday life and the fact that we are separated by a different scarf is nothing compared to the value of human life. Fans of other teams have also been in our position and we believe that it is finally time to collectively accept a radical change in fan rivalry, so that no other mother in Greece will ever be hurt like this again.”

Arranging a friendly match between PAOK and Aris in Alkis’ honour has also been suggested, but the reality is that friendlies don’t exist in Greek football.

In 2015, the Super League was suspended because of repeated incidents of violence and rivalries remain fierce. Olympiakos, the most successful club in the country, and Panathinaikos are both from Athens. They clash over social, cultural and regional differences.

In Thessaloniki, the main rivalry is PAOK, founded in 1926 by Greek refugees who fled Istanbul during the Greco-Turkish War, and Aris, established in 1914 and recognised these days as having a more affluent fanbase. There’s also a direct rivalry between Athens, the capital, and Thessaloniki, Greece’s second-biggest city, and a more widespread hatred towards PAOK, largely because of their aggressive nature and strong hooligan following, according to rival supporters.

PAOK’s Russian-Greek owner Ivan Savvidis comes into conversation regularly when The Athletic meets with supporters of different clubs. Savvidis runs the majority of the port in Thessaloniki and has business interests in the media.

In March 2018, a controversial refereeing decision prompted Savvidis to charge onto the pitch with a handgun in his belt, causing PAOK’s game with AEK Athens to be abandoned. An arrest warrant was issued, not for the unlawful possession of a gun, but for entering the field during play. Again, football was suspended in Greece.

PAOK’s president Ivan Savvidis storms the pitch with a handgun during a game in 2018 (Photo: Stringer/AFP via Getty Images)

Since then, big games have been a big problem.

Take the Greek Cup final between PAOK and AEK in 2018, for example. More than 5,000 police officers were deployed to monitor the game, which had 35,000 fans in attendance, a ratio of one officer for every seven supporters. Compare that to an emotionally-charged game in England such as Tottenham Hotspur vs West Ham United or Birmingham City vs Aston Villa, where around 500 officers are usually deployed, and you can see the difference — a ratio of, at best, one officer for every 75 supporters.

At Athens’ 70,000-capacity Olympic Stadium staged the final, and there was pre-match trouble as supporters launched stones and flares before the violence spilt onto the stands.

When the same two clubs got to the final at the same venue again the following year, just 1,000 fans were allowed inside as police outnumbered them three-to-one, yet even then there were reports of violence.

“Welcome to Greek football,” a supporter outside PAOK’s Toumba Stadium says about the chain of bad behaviour.

Worryingly, he just shrugs his shoulders when asked about the state of violence among supporters, almost as if it is part and parcel of football.

In November 2021, a game between PAOK and Aris here was halted in its final stages as hooligans from the home end invaded the pitch, causing the referee and visiting team to rush back to their dressing room. Arrests were made and most of the home crowd left the Toumba in disgust at their fellow fans’ behaviour.

When it is full, this is one of the most hostile and intimidating stadiums in Europe.

Last Sunday, though, you could almost hear a pin drop. No fans, fires or flares left the place feeling soulless.

When former Aston Villa centre-back Jose Angel Crespo headed home the match-winning goal in a 1-0 victory over ex-Wales manager Chris Coleman’s Athens-based Atromitos, there were just soft celebrations in the stands where only friends and family of the players attend.

Still, the surroundings tell a picture of their own, and hint at what it will be like when the measures are lifted and football returns to normal. Outside the notorious Gate Four, home to the hooligan section of PAOK’s fanbase, graffiti covers the wall. The words “Fuck Athens” appear next to artwork of the grim reaper, an undertaker and a skull and crossbones.

In the hills above the stadium, police have their eyes on a small group of hooded men dressed in all black who are keeping their distance but making their presence felt. They heckle two women who enter a rundown apartment block nearby before shouting aggressively.

“Proper match days are much more difficult,” says a policeman close to a riot van. “Supporters in Greece are… let’s just say, a challenge.”

Even without the hardcore supporters inside, officers have arrived with shields and helmets in case of any disruption. Guarding the stadium, they claim some spectators turn up just to cause chaos and destruction. It’s suggested that many will lay low after the killing of Alkis due to the increased spotlight.

Greece does not want empty stadiums, just well-behaved crowds where the focus is on football. To start fixing some of the problems, officers believe clubs must begin registering by supporters so that every attending spectator can be identified. Putting that into practice is unlikely. It’s been discussed loosely for years but is yet to get off the ground.

These are not just football clubs, either. They have highly competitive basketball and volleyball clubs attached. Supporters follow — and occasionally fight — at their matches, too.

“I’ve seen fighting at water polo games,” says an AEK supporter.

An Aris supporter adds: “I’ve been to basketball games where there are 500 people inside — 250 from each club — with just a rope separating us. Were there fights? Of course. But killings? No.”

All around the stadiums are adverts for other sections of the club. Wrestling, judo, kickboxing and swimming are all well represented. Having an association with an athletic club in Greece is part of integrating into the community. Killing, to state the obvious, is not, and the attack on Alkis has cranked up the pressure on the authorities to prevent further tragedies from happening.

This was a boy who had left his family home to go out to eat with friends whose life was ended by fanatics hellbent on enhancing their reputation as a hooligan firm.

Thessaloniki’s mayor, Konstantinos Zervas, said in a statement: “We condemn the fan violence, clashes, all kinds of violence absolutely and categorically. This is a black mark for our city. Above all, it is our duty to protect the life and health of our citizens and to prevent such crimes in the future. Such criminal acts should not tarnish sports and should not distract the sports community from sports events.“

The arrests and plans for tougher sanctions show that some early action has been taken on the back of this killing.

It’s a start, but this grieving nation is hoping it isn’t forgotten when the headlines switch focus.

For Aristides and Melina, though, their pain lives on.

(Top photo: Getty Images/Design: Sam Richardson)

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