Greece's longest and most fierce sporting rivalries, Olympiakos vs Panathinaikos, had their first game of the year against each other. The game hadn't even started and the stadium was already on fire and the field riddled with paper, bottles, and cups. A rivalry that goes back almost 100 years, it has taken the lives of many fans, referees, and players. Yesterday's game was tame though (aside from some fans ripping seats out of the stands and hitting each other with them). In the first half, the referee (who was obviously paid off) made a completely bullshit call against Antonis Nikopolidis (the former Panathinaikos goalie, who is now the Olympiakos goalie....i won't go into the frenzy that the trade caused). Nikopolidis dove to block the ball and Panathinaikos striker Ezequiel Gonzalez ran into his hands and tripped. THe referee Nikopolidis a yellow card and gave Gonzalez a penalty kick. During the dispute immediately after the play in the penalty box, a fan from the stands throws a lit flare and hits the referee dead on in the face. The ref quickly spedwalk to the center of the field where he would be safer, clutching his face. Fires were started throughout the stadium and brawls kicked up again, making it hard to see what was going on in the field. WHen the ball was set up for the penalty kick, another flare was thrown on the field and fell right on the ball, causing it to catch fire and explode. The army was sent into the stadium to quell the rioting, just as a glass bottle BARELY whizzed by Nikopolidis' head. The penalty kick eventually was made and Panathinaikos scored the first goal of the game. After Rivaldo scored for Olympiakos 15 minutes later, the army left the stadium.
