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[edit] Final standings
[edit] Olympiakos - Panathinaikos match
The football game that decided the champion in Greece in 2003. The game took place at Rizoupoli Stadium in Athens on 11/5/03. Before the kick-off Panathinaikos was leading the championship by 3 points and had previously won Olympiakos by 3-2 at Apostolos Nikolaidis. Panathinaikos needed just a draw to secure the title and a loss by 1 goal would decide the champion on a playoff fixture held on a neutral ground. The week before the match, Olympiacos' president and main shareholder, Sokratis Kokkalis during an official conference, had an unforgetable outburst against Panathinaikos players and fans and provoked them by calling them "chickens" and "customers"[1], an action that made Olympiakos fans to create an absolutely hostile atmosphere, in which even Panathinaikos players risked their own lives and a Panathinaikos fan lost his eye when he was hit by a flare during the riots[2][3]
From the moment that Panathinaikos fans came to the Rizoupoli Stadium, Olympiakos fan haven't stopped to drop them everything they could find, including broken seats, glass bottles and even flares directly to the Green fans. This led Panathinaikos to a hands-off 3-0 loss[4]
The Greek police were later accused for not interfering to protect Panathinaikos fans and players from the angry mob. It should be also noted that the Attica Police Force chief, Ioannis Tsironis, who was charged to prevent any riots during the day of the game was appointed as Olympiakos' Safety Inspector a year after they game, a position he keeps until today.[5]
Olympiakos managed to score 3 goals without conceding any and took advantage over his arch-rival. Olympiakos won the championship on the final fixture against Skoda Xanthi at National Stadium of Xanthi which won 5-1. On the 3rd minute of the match Giovanni Silva de Oliveira scored with a header and 12 minutes later Stelios Giannakopoulos doubled the tally for Olympiakos. 2 minutes after half-time Giannakopoulos scored again with an excellent header after a Predrag Djordjevic free-kick. Panathianikos was unable to react during the whole game and Olympiakos duly delivered on that day.Olympiakos fully prevailed during this match,closing a long period of wins and glory. This match was very important to the Reds as they conquered their 7th consecutive championship (1997-2003) breaking its previous record of 6 consecutive titles.
[edit] Match details
[edit] References
Olympiacos CFP
3'
