Greek government steps in tackle football violence, but so does FIFA and UEFA

The Greek authorities are on a collision with FIFA and EUFA over plans to tackle violence in domestic sport, with the two bodies warning the country could be thrown out of international football because of government interference. 

Deputy Sports Minister Stavros Kontonis says plans to introduce an auditing and supervisory role in all aspects of Greek sport would go ahead in defiance of a joint letter written by FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke and his UEFA counterpart Gianni Infantino.

Tough new legislation to combat football violence was unveiled in a draft bill by Kontonis last month under which the government would have the right to impose fines ranging from €10,000 to €25 million, order the postponement or cancellation of sporting events and even prohibit teams from playing in European competition.

"We believe that the bill puts on the rails again the responsibilities of the state to handle the tsunami of violence in sports. The government and the parliament are the only legitimized bodies of the Greek people," Kontonis said.

He argues that FIFA and UEFA are international organisations governed by Swiss law while "the Greek parliament is the place to legislate with the direct mandate of the Greek people."

The two bodies, who don't always agree on procedure, have jointly threatened to ban Greece's teams from all international tournaments if the state ends up intervening in football matters. The co-signed letter reportedly calls on Kontonis to change several parts of the draft bill which is also opposed by The Hellenic Football Federation.

FIFA and UEFA are the only authorities that can decide whether or not clubs can participate in their competitions. But Kontonis has so far refused to back down.

"Where public money is involved no one can be excluded from control. We want self rule but all sports federations will be monitored and managed in a uniform manner, with no exceptions," he said
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