Visibly moved, the parents of the 19-year-old deceased student Alkis Kampanou were in the morning at the place where their son was murdered in a blind fan attack, on February 1, 2022.

Their presence in the Harilaou area took place on the occasion of the official renaming ceremony of the street from Anthimos Gazi to Alki Kampanou by the municipal authority of the municipality of Thessaloniki.

“Let Alki’s sacrifice be a new beginning for our sport, with less violence and almost no victims,” ​​said the 19-year-old’s father, Aristides Kampanos, after the unveiling ceremony, which took place in an emotionally charged atmosphere.

As Mr. Kampanos said, it is the second time he is with his wife, Melina, at the scene of their child’s murder, within a period of 15 days. “You understand my emotion, it is very difficult. Despite all this, the love of the whole world gives me courage to overcome it as much as I can. Thank you all,” he said.

On the steps where Alkis sat with his friends and received the murderous blows from the 12 PAOK fans, the 19-year-old’s mother, Melina, and close relatives, who left a few flowers at the scene, stood silent and moved.

The next step will be the placement of a monument at the site of the student’s murder, as its placement was approved by the Directorate of Architecture of the Municipality of Thessaloniki.

The request for renaming the street and for placing a monument was submitted by A.S. Aris to the municipality of Thessaloniki a few hours after the murder of the 19-year-old.

The ceremony was attended by the Deputy Minister of the Interior, responsible for Macedonia-Thrace affairs, Stavros Kalafatis, the Mayor of Thessaloniki Konstantinos Zervas, the Deputy Regional Governor for Development and Environment of the Region of Central Macedonia Kostas Jutikas, the President of the Thessaloniki City Council Petros Lekakis and the President of AS Aris Lefteris Arvanite.

Mr. Zervas, after the unveiling of the street, said: “We are in a spot that Alkis loved and frequented, until that fateful night. Alkis was lost in a tragic, violent way, but it is our duty to keep his presence alive. And this is the goal of the decision of the municipal council of the municipality of Thessaloniki: that Alkis be among us and that this spot will forever remind of the existence of this child and his unjust loss. And let’s all together make sure that we never live again, that we don’t have such tragedies and such crimes.”

Deputy Minister Mr. Kalafatis added that it is the State’s duty to keep the memory of the 19-year-old alive. “This is also done with today’s nomenclature. Let’s all contribute in our own way to an effort that must be uninterrupted and continuous so that something like this never happens. Alkis is in our hearts and will be forever.”

The president of the yellow and black club Mr. Arvanitis spoke about a very moving moment and thanked the Region of Central Macedonia and the Municipality of Thessaloniki for accepting the club’s request. “The goal”, he emphasized, “was and will always be to keep the memory of Alkis who was so cowardly murdered at this point, so that the light of his soul can drive away the darkness that has spread in the city.”