The Greek Cabinet Was Reshuffled After The Tragedy Of Violence At The Sports Event

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis/PHOTO via Instagram @kyriakos_

JAKARTA - Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis replaced several members of his cabinet, primarily by sacking the civil protection minister, following several deadly "hooligan" incidents in several Greek sporting events.

Reported by Antara from AFP, Thursday, January 4, the small reshuffle was announced by a spokesman for the Pavlos Marinakis government to state broadcaster Elliniki Radiofonia Tilerosi (ERT).

Giannis Oikonomou, who has served as minister of civil protection since Mitsotakis' New Democratic party won another election in June 2023, was replaced by Health Minister Michalis Chrysohoidis.

Meanwhile, Chryssooidis was replaced at the Ministry of Health by the Minister of Ultra-conservative Labor, Adonis Georgiadis, who was replaced by Domna Michailidou, who became the third woman in the cabinet.

The overthrow of Oikonomo came after a 31-year-old policeman died of injuries last week after being hit by flares during clashes between supporters at a volley 7 December 2023 in Athens.

The death came four months after a 29-year-old Greek man was stabbed to death in a fight before a soccer match between Croatian club Dinamo Zagreb and AEK Aethians on the eve of the Champions League qualifying match in the Greek capital.

Greek Football League president Vangelis Marinakis stepped down on December 12, 2023 and the government announced various moves to reduce fan violence, including playing all major league football games behind closed doors until February 12, 2024.

The move to play games without spectators can also be extended case by case for European level matches involving the Greek teams.

One of these policies has been implemented in the European League match on December 15, 2023 between Olympiakos and Serbian club Backa Topola.

HD (High Definition)-type cameras and electronic entrance systems with supporting identity verification are also installed in all stadiums, in accordance with government policies.