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Professional football suspended in Greece after attack on referee
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Matches in Greece’s professional leagues have been suspended indefinitely after a referees’ committee official was admitted to hospital following a violent attack.
This could be because it launched early, our rights have expired, there was a legal issue, or for another reason.
Police said 45-year-old Christoforos Zografos, the assistant director of the central refereeing committee, was beaten with wooden clubs by two men on a motorcycle in west Athens in the early hours of Friday.
After an emergency meeting the Hellenic Football Federation decided not to appoint referees following the “murderous attack”. It announced the indefinite postponement of all matches in all divisions “to protect those involved”. Referees would not be appointed until immediate steps were taken to protect match officials.
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Zografos, a former Fifa referee, works under the retired Scottish referee Hugh Dallas, who was appointed head of the refereeing committee in the close season after pleas from Greek clubs for a foreign official to take on the administrative role following several match-fixing scandals.
Matches were suspended by the government in September as a mark of respect following the death of a fan after violent clashes at a third division match. Kostas Katsoulis, 46, a supporter of Ethinikos Piraeus, suffered serious head injuries following clashes with Irodotos fans in Crete.
