Betsis on fan violence: “Prevention must start from within our own society with an organized plan”

In the part of prevention, he stood Vasilis Betsis talking about the phenomena fan violence in Greek sports.

The president of PAE Atromitos and Deputy Mayor of Sports and Daily Life of the Municipality of Peristeri emphasized, among other things, that prevention must start from within our own society, with a coordinated and organized plan and not with jerky movements.

In detail, the interview of Vassilis Betsis:

Mr. Betsi, for the sixth time in a row, the combination of Andreas Pachaturidis was elected in Peristeri and indeed with an overwhelming percentage of 78% in the recent municipal elections. At the same time, you personally were appointed as the person in charge of the area’s Sports sector. This trust towards you fills you with responsibilities.



“Responsibilities are there anyway, regardless of whether you’ve been cast in a more specialized role. It is really a great honor that after so many years the trust of our mayor remains alive and strengthens towards me, because in these cases the passage of time can be an adversary.

Beyond that, as far as the field of Sports is concerned, this assignment fills me with great joy, because the people of Peristeri know very well that I am hopelessly in love with this area. I have the honor of being a member of the family of the biggest football ambassador of our city, Atromitos, of which I am also the president since 2017. I am at the side of GS Peristeri in every match in Klisto, while we are always next to the amateur clubs of the area us».

Nevertheless, the situation for sports in our country, not exclusively in Peristeri, is special. Until recently football stadiums were closed by government decision, many incidents have marked sporting events and now we have a stricter legislative framework. What do you think of this whole situation?



“It goes without saying that the entire sports world condemns such incidents. Unfortunately, after the murder of a child, Alkis Kampanos, we as parents experienced the deaths and murders of children and then, who were wrongly included in the context of fan violence. We are talking about the vast majority of cases of tragic events that took place outside the fields, which adds to the general scourge of the era that has to do with all forms of violence.

We hear and see what happens every day in schools, what happens in neighborhoods, what happens even inside homes. In my mind, it would be absurd for sports to be an exception to this situation. After all, this situation does not exist only in Greece. We have seen many serious incidents in recent years throughout Europe, such as in France and Spain. Even in the Champions League final we have seen situations that we didn’t even imagine could exist at such a level in 2020».

This period of closed stadiums is over and its end also brought a new legislative framework on violence, which foresees new data in sports facilities with new directives on cameras, tickets, the way to enter the stadiums. Do you think there have been moves in the right direction?



“Any move by the State that aims to protect the citizen, the fan, our children, we are here to support and strengthen it. In fact, the period you describe was “paid” by parties that had no substantial responsibilities and in fact the government itself spoke of decisions that were symbolic in nature, agreeing exactly to what I am telling you. In addition, serious and strict precedents were also imposed by previous governments and personally by ministers.

The real stake is henceforth the application of punishments and the arrest of the real culprits for the escalation and spread of violence. And when we say “real culprits” we mean both the physical and the moral perpetrators of this situation”.

However, apart from repression, prevention is also a big issue in the fight against violence.



“Prevention for the non-existence of incidents of violence must start still – even from our own homes. Education is one thing and literacy is another, which every child receives from his home, so in this context there must be appropriate guidance to our children about the real importance of sports, and not just football or basketball, which are the most popular sports in our country. Beyond that, our schools are also a big issue, through which, from a very young age, there must be special programs in which the athletes themselves, the protagonists, will explain to the children about the beneficial action of sports and at the same time about the futility of ill-conceived bigotry.

Prevention in other words, must start from within our own society, with a coordinated and organized plan and not with jerky movements».