'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
A UEFA Champions League Qualifier game was recently postponed after a fan was stabbed to death following severe violence.
AEK Athens and Dinamo Zagreb were going to lock horns against each other in the first leg of their third qualifying round match on Tuesday (August 8) night. However, the long-awaited fixture was eventually postponed by UEFA because of a massive outbreak of violence.
The match was going to take place at the Opap Arena in Nea Filadelfeia, Greece, which is the home stadium of Greek champions AEK Athens. However, before the matchday, clashes between the supporters of both sides broke out on Monday.
Amid the chaos, a supporter was stabbed multiple times in Nea Filadelfeia. He was later taken to the hospital in an emergency. However, he eventually passed away because of the gruesome damage he suffered during the violence.
The clash was fueled after more than a hundred Dinamo Zagreb fans gathered outside the Opap Arena. Consequently, a large number of home supporters were already present at the venue. Thus, items such as stones, explosives, and flares were also used by the supporters during the violence.
Addressing the situation, UEFA released a statement and postponed the Champions League Qualifier until further notice.
"Following yesterday’s violence and in consultation with the local authorities, UEFA has decided that the conditions for the match between AEK Athens FC and GNK Dinamo to go ahead tonight are not met," UEFA confirmed.
The football authority also expressed their deepest sympathy to the family of the victim, who was stabbed during the clash.
Police confirm that the man stabbed during the Champions League violence was a Greek
After massive clashes broke out between two parties before the Champions League Qualifier, police had a busy day at work as they made a total of 96 arrests (via Euronews).
Hence, the Greek police have also disclosed a statement about the violence, stating that the man who died during the clashes was their native. In addition to that, six other injured individuals were also admitted to the hospital.
“A serious incident took place outside the Nea Filadelfeia stadium. A young Greek man was stabbed to death and six other injured people are in hospital," Greek police said (via Euronews).
Last year, the government of Greece increased the punishment sentence for crimes related to fan violence from six months to five years. However, the precautions eventually failed to have a significant impact on stopping the violence.
