FIFA and Greece fine common ground to avoid suspending Greek clubs for fan violence

The Greek government and FIFA have reached an agreement to restart the Greek Cup, suspended because of violence, in order to prevent the expulsion of Greek football clubs and national teams from international competitions.

FIFA representative Costakis Koutsokoumnis announced on Tuesday, after the meetings with the Hellenic Football Federation and Sports Minister Stavros Kontonis, that an agreement had been reached to withdraw the government's decision to suspend the Cup before Friday, reports Efe.

Greek soccer is severely affected by the violence of fans, field invasions, allegations of manipulation of matches and chronic lack of confidence in referees.

Kontonis suspended for several weeks all national competitions because of incidents that prevented the Greek Clasico between Olympiacos and Panathinaikos from being held.