Greek football club owner banned for 3 years over pitch invasion with gun

Athens (AFP) – The owner of Greek club PAOK has been banned for three years after storming onto the pitch with a holstered gun on his belt, league organisers said.

PAOK were also docked three points and fined for Ivan Savvidis’ actions, meaning they drop to third place in a tight championship race with AEK and Olympiakos.

The ruling, which also includes a 100,000-euro ($123,000) fine for Greek-Russian businessman Savvidis and a separate 63,000-euro fine for PAOK, is open to appeal.

Also Thursday, the monitoring committee of global football body FIFA recommended the immediate suspension of Greece’s football federation, according to a letter leaked to Greek media.

The Greek leage will resume on Saturday after being suspended on March 12 in the wake of the Savvidis incident.

The clubs have agreed to a list of government demands, including point deductions and automatic relegation for clubs responsible for violence.