On file, due to the lapse of 8 years and as a consequence of the statute of limitations for the acts (of a misdemeanor nature), the case file is filed for the episodic football match between PAOK and Olympiacos for the Greek Cup, in March 2016, which was interrupted when “Dikefalos” fans invaded the pitch Toumbas, protesting the non-awarding of a penalty in favor of their team.

The constant postponements of the trial of the case in the first instance and the delay in finalizing the first instance decision, by which 23 people were convicted, seem to be the main reasons that led to this development, as pointed out by lawyers who represented them.

The case was heard in the first instance in December 2022, six and a half years after the incidents took place, while the indictment initially included 36 people who were charged after months of investigations by the Thessaloniki Sports Violence Sub-Directorate of EL.AS. For the identification of many of them, material from the closed circuit monitoring of the Toumba stadium was used.

The Three-member Misdemeanor Court of Thessaloniki finally found 23 PAOK fans guilty and sentenced them to prison terms of 5 to 16 months, with a three-year suspension. Twenty of them appealed to be judged in second degree by the Court of Appeal. It took 14 months for the decision to be written down and filed, so the determination of the appellate trial followed, before the Three-member Misdemeanor Appeals Court of Thessaloniki, just a few days before the eight-year period expired, with a shortening of the summoning period for the accused due to the risk of statute of limitations.

At the beginning of the trial at the Court of Appeal, the defense attorneys of the 20 defendants submitted an objection to the nullity of the proceedings, because, according to what they argued, the deadline for summoning the defendants provided by the Criminal Procedure was not observed (in this case, it sets a minimum of eight days). The judges accepted the above objection of illegal subpoena, declaring the discussion inadmissible.

Under the above circumstances, the time limits did not allow the re-introduction of the case for trial by another (corresponding) court and with a different composition, so, as the advocates explained, it became the only way to stop the criminal prosecution due to completion of eight years (expired on March 2).

At the same time, with the acquittal of criminal charges, the restrictive conditions imposed on the 20 defendants by the first-instance decision regarding the ban on watching their team’s matches and their simultaneous appearance at the police station (two hours before and two hours after the games). These conditions were valid until the following December.