Tuesday 20th March, 2012 15 Greek game abandoned due to fan, police clashes BY DEMETRIS NELLAS

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — The Greek league game between leader Olympiakos and Panathinaikos was abandoned with eight minutes to go on Sunday because of escalating clashes between fans and the police. Police announced that 57 people had been detained and a further 20 arrested, while nine police officers were injured, two of them seriously. “We dedicated several thousand per- sonnel to policing the game and we faced, beginning two hours before the game started, escalating attacks,” police Riot police officers are attacked with fire spokesman Athanassios Kokalakis said. bombs,thrown by Panathinaikos’ fans during a Olympiakos, four points ahead of soccer match in the Greek Super League at the Panathinaikos before the game, was lead- Olympic stadium in Athens, Sunday, March 18 ing 1-0 from Djamel Abdoun’s 51st- 2012. The Greek league game between leader minute goal. No Olympiakos fans attended the Olympiakos and Panathinaikos was abandoned game at Olympic Stadium in accordance with eight minutes to go because of escalating with a league policy not to allow visiting clashes between fans and the police. fans due to fears of violence. (AP Photo/Kostas Tsironis) Sports general secretary Panos Bitsaxis said on television that the state had taken “the best possible security measures” and accused football clubs of doing nothing to curb the fanatical sup- porters and of opposing the state’s attempts to impose tougher sanctions. Bitsaxis left open the option of postpon- ing the next round. According to league rules, Panathinaikos is facing having three points deducted and a steep fine, up to 180,000, and could play several games in front of empty stands. Up to two points could also be deducted from the follow- ing season. Clashes between police and fans started before the game, when hundreds of youths without tickets tried to enter the stadium. The conflict continued At one stage, about 30 of the hooded added to the mix of projectiles thrown at The stadium’s electronic scoreboard Michalis Anagnostou said. “The result throughout, forcing the second half to hooligans isolated two policemen and police and photographers. caught fire and was damaged. Fire was not what we wished for.” start 35 minutes late. attacked them with clubs and bars. The The firebombs — which were also trucks entered the stadium’s track to put Broadcaster NovaSports did not A group of about 200 hooded individ- beating went on for about five minutes thrown at police outside the stadium — out the fires but were attacked by fans, show any of the images of exploding uals were seated in a VIP section, next to before another detachment of riot police were water bottles filled with gasoline, so trucks with water cannons were used firebombs, instead focusing entirely on the players’ tunnel. Some of them car- came to their colleagues’ rescue. liquid ammonia and little sticks of dyna- instead. The fires were evntually put the match. ried clubs and iron bars. They were con- In the second half, Panathinaikos mite. out. Owner Forthnet Group released a fronted by a line of riot police on the fans set fire to seats in the upper and “The noise was so much that the play- “We had been cooperating with the statement saying they “will continue to other side of a trough, who they attacked lower decks. Referee Tassos Kakos aban- ers could not concentrate,” Olympiakos police for almost a month in preparation isolate violent scenes and any message at halftime. doned the game when firebombs were coach Ernesto Valverde said. for the game,” league general manager irrelevant to football.”

SCOREBOARD Australia The Maasai Warriors team West Indies end c sub (Bishoo) b Sammy 25 b Roach 13 c Sammy b Roach 0 long drought against c Baugh b Narine 24 b Narine 37 G. Bailey c Samuels b 21 Australia Daniel Christian run out (Roach) 6 Matthew Wade c Roach b Narine 3 11 Clint McKay st Baugh b Narine 6 Xavier Doherty not out 0 Extras: (2b, 3lb, 2w, 1nb) 8 TOTAL: (for nine ) 154 Overs: 40 Fall of wickets: 1-19, 2-19, 3-46, 4-77, 5-109, 6-121, 7-136, 8-136, 9-154 : 8-3-23-2 (1nb), Dwayne Bravo 6-0-30-1 (1w), Darren Sammy 4-0-19-1, 6-0-14- 0, 8-1-27-4, 4-0-18-0, 4-0-18-0 (1w) West Indies Kieran Powell lbw b Lee 0 Johnson Charles run out (Lee) 26 Marlon Samuels b Watson 20 A cricket team made up of Maasai warriors from the Laikipia region of Kenya has been b Doherty 16 formed to promote healthier lifestyles, as well as spreading awareness about HIV Dwayne Bravo run out (Wade) 30 Kieron Pollard not out 47 amongst the tribal youth. The region has seen a rise in Maasai youth turn to drink and not out 18 drugs. Extras: (4b, 2w) 6 TOTAL: (for five wickets) 163 Overs: 38.2 West Indies’ Kemar Roach, third from right, celebrates with team-mates after bowling Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-42, 3-67, 4-74, 5- out Australian opener David Warner for 13 runs during their second one day interna- 138 Did not bat: Darren Sammy, Andre tional cricket match in Kingstown, St. Vincent, Sunday March 18, 2012. Russell, Sunil Narine, Kemar Roach (AP Photo/Andres Leighton) Bowling: Brett Lee 8-1-37-1, Clint McKay 8-2-16-0, Shane Watson 7-1-28- March 18 - West Indies beat little short,” Watson said in a post- 1 (1w), David Hussey 3-0-13-0 (1w), Australia by five wickets on Sunday to match interview. Daniel Christian 5-0-26-0, Xavier record their first one-day international “Once the sun got on the it Doherty 7.2-0-39-1. win their old rivals since 2006 and seemed to settle a little more but that’s NB: West Indies had a revised Duckworth/Lewis target of 158 to win tie their five match series at 1-1. the great challenge of the playing in the due to rain interrupting Australia’s Spinner Sunil Narine captured four West Indies and we have to adapt a little innings. wickets and Kieron Pollard smashed an better.” Result: West Indies won by five wickets unbeaten 47 as West Indies cruised to West Indies, set 158 from 40 overs to Series: Level at 1-1 with three matches left victory with 10 balls to spare in the win under the Duckworth/Lewis Toss: West Indies rain-affected match at the Arnos Vale method, made a terrible start to their Umpires: Shahvir Tarapore, India and Ground in St Vincent. reply when Kieron Powell was bowled Gregory Brathwaite, Third umpire: Kumar Dharmasena, Sri The match was reduced to 40 overs a on the first ball of the innings, shoul- Lanka, India side after rain began falling shortly dering arms to Brett Lee. Match referee: Andy Pycroft, They are actively campaigning against FGM (Female Genital Mutilation), early childhood after the start. The home side were still in danger Zimbabwe. The Australians, who won the first when they slumped to 74-4 in the 19th marriages and are fighting for the rights of women. match by 64 runs on Friday, could only over before Pollard took control, slog- muster a modest total of 154 for nine, ging four sixes in his unbeaten 47 and with David Hussey top scoring with 37 sharing a 64-run with off 62 balls. Dwayne Bravo (30) that turned the Shane Watson (25), Mike Hussey (24) match. Kanagaraj reappointed KDBA President and George Bailey (21) all made starts “It’s a good feeling,” West Indies cap- but no-one was able to go on make a sig- tain Darren Sammy said. “The team nificant score as Narine ripped through played much better today, the bowlers Businessman P. Kanagaraj was elected ble for conducting regular tournaments in the middle-order, taking career-best fig- did well again and there was much President of the Kandy District Basketball the Kandy district and two years ago, helped ures of 4-27. more responsibility when chasing the Association (KDBA) for the fourth time at the KDBA conduct the Senior Nationals P. Kanagaraj P. “We kept on fighting but we were a runs.” AGM held recently. Kanagaraj was responsi- Tournament as well.