At least 15 injured in clashes at AEK Athens-Ajax match, report finds

Athens: At least 15 people were injured during clashes between fans of Greek football club AEK Athens and Dutch club Ajax Amsterdam just before the UEFA Champions League Group E match here, according to the official assessment presented Wednesday.

Tuesday’s clashes at Spyros Louis Olympic Stadium lasted around 15 minutes and began when fans of the Athenian team threw Molotov cocktails and flares at the visiting Dutch supporters, and were only put down after police intervened with tear gas and stun grenades, reports Efe news.

Epa-efe photos from inside the stadium showed riot police hitting Ajax fans with clubs, leaving some with their faces covered in blood.

The statement said that eight of the officially reported wounded were Ajax supporters, while seven were AEK fans.

This was the third major disturbance by AEK fans this year, after a pitched battle at a domestic match against Olympiacos Piraeus on October 7, followed by the launching of flares during the Champions League match against Bayern Munich on October 22.

The Greek football federation withdrew three points from AEK for the Olympiacos clashes, while UEFA slapped AEK with a 64,000 euro ($72,210) fine this week for the Bayern incident.

Ajax went on to win the match 2-0, securing a place in the last-16 round with only one match remaining in the group stage.

The Dutch side is second in Group E with 11 points, just two points behind leader Bayern Munich, and the two teams will face off on December 12.

AEK Athens is at the bottom of the group with no points, and is effectively eliminated from all European competitions.

Portuguese club Benfica is in third with four points and is set to continue in the UEFA Europa League competition. (IANS)

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