“For 20 years nothing had ever happened” at the Olympic Stadium, the Sports deputy pointed out on Saturday Yannis Vroutsiscommenting on the sudden “lockout” in the stadium and the cycling track of the sports complex that caused strong reactions.

“After the decision of the Prime Minister, in July 2021 to upgrade the OAKA, relevant studies were commissioned and now I have received the conclusion of the study from the consortium to which it was commissioned after a 6-month process. The study came into my hands the day before yesterday and led to the decision to close OAKA”, said Yannis Vroutsis, speaking to ANT1. “OAKA is not closed indefinitely, but temporarily” he clarified.

Asked to comment on what Olympian Petros Galaktopoulos said earlier on the channel, that “80 kg irons were falling and we were changing screws”, the Deputy Minister of Education, responsible for Sports, emphasized that “for 20 years nothing had ever been done”.

“The findings of the study show that the static efficiency is not what it should be, and this leads to insecurity about the stability of the roofs and led us to this decision”, said Yannis Vroutsis, emphasizing that the first concern was “to ensure the self-evident priority of the safety of the athletes, coaches and fans of OAKA, which is the ” heart of sports” of our country”.

As he added, years ago an oscillation was observed in the stands during a match and then there was a study that showed that there is no static problem in the stadium. A static problem exists only in the canopy.”

Asked about the tactics of the previous years, Mr. Vroutsis said that “Under the Samaras government, Yiannis Andrianos committed 8 million euros for the study of the stability of the Kalatrava roofs, but the Government changed and there was no progress and I don’t know why”.

“As soon as I assumed the position of Deputy Minister of Sports, I signed a decision so that no sports center can operate if it does not have stability and fire safety studies”, noted the competent Deputy Minister of Education, Religion and Sports.

As he said, during this period taekwondo and bridge competitions were held at OAKA, which after consultation are being held from today at SEF.

Commenting on Panathinaikos’ strong reaction to the “lockout”, Yiannis Vroutsis acknowledged that “we are concerned about Panathinaikos, they are an iconic team and we have notified that we will stand by them, within our capabilities. Tickets were not sold, as Panathinaikos says, the match is at the end of October. Panathinaikos is part of the problem, because OAKA hosts many clubs and associations.”

“Together with TEE we will proceed with a re-evaluation of the study and soon we will have news, so that in the shortest possible time the OAKA will be safely delivered again”, said Yannis Vroutsis, without however committing to a clear timetable. Mr. Vroutsis will make statements on the matter on Monday.