Greece played down a training ground bust-up between two players on Wednesday, saying they were “200 per cent” focused on getting their World Cup campaign back on track with their game against Japan yesterday.

Defenders Yannis Maniatis and Giorgos Tzavellas had to be separated by captain Giorgos Karagounis in training after harsh words were exchanged.

The Greek FA issued a statement saying a “heated moment” – which Greek media said had its source in the bad blood between their clubs PAOK and
Olympiakos – had been “blown completely out of proportion”.

“As far as I’m concerned there is no issue or problem,” defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos told a news conference at the Dunas arena on Wednesday.

“What happened was minor. It was trivia. Such instances are sometimes good for the press but that’s all.”

Coach Fernando Santos refused to discuss the incident and talked instead about the squad’s mission to make the last 16 at a World Cup for the first time.
The incident follows incidents from the explosive Greek Cup semifinal between PAOK and Olympiakos, when Maniatis and Costas Katsouranis nearly traded punches.

Katsouranis was advised to issue a public apology just before Greece left for Brazil. There was no response by Maniatis, but the two players, as well as
Tzavellas, who had also been involved in that infamous tussle at Toumba Stadium, remained members of the national team as if nothing had happened between them.

Sources: Kathimerini, Reuters