Greek football needs a major overhaul to rid itself of the crippling problem of crowd violence, according to players’ union chief Stelios Giannakopoulos. Violence inside and outside stadiums in the Super League and Football League, Greece’s second division, have plagued Greece this season, endangering the safety of players and fans.

Leading clubs Olympiakos Piraeus, Panathinaikos, AEK Athens and PAOK Thessalonikis have been punished with supporter bans after ugly pitch invasions involving battles with police and attacks on players. Giannakopoulos, who played in the English Premier League for Bolton Wanderers and even had a sting in Australia with Sydney Olympic, is president of Greek players’ union PSAP which has called for strict measures to tackle hooliganism.

“It is a very sad situation, the images we have seen this season have smeared our game,” Stelios recently said. “The worst thing is that they are not isolated incidents but just another link in a chain of continuous delinquent behaviour. “Players being threatened and other incidents of crowd violence unfortunately are happening quite often,” added Giannakopoulos, who spent five years at Bolton and was a member of Greece’s Euro 2004-winning squad.

“From a player’s perspective the most important of all is safety and it is simply unacceptable to be reaching the point where you fear that your life could be at risk on the pitch. It must stop here.” The country was left shocked on February 19 when hundreds of fans invaded the pitch following Olympiakos’s tempestuous 2-1 win over closest rivals Panathinaikos. Olympiakos supporters threw punches and kicks at visiting players and battled with police.

Attacks by supporters on the Super League offices and the home of Olympiakos player Vasilis Torosidis followed while Panathinaikos assigned bodyguards to several players as the fall-out continued from what was dubbed the “derby of shame” by Greek media. PSAP called for a strike in response to the growing problem in March but it was narrowly averted as the organisation did not get the backing of all 16 top-flight clubs despite the support of international players’ union FIFpro.

FIFpro has since stepped up its involvement by creating a special European task force to deal with the problem of violence towards players, racism and corruption, citing Greece as one of the focus countries. “This is undoubtedly an excellent initiative which we have pledged to offer our full support on a local level,” said Giannakopoulos.

“They are taking steps not just to combat the problem of violence against players, racism and corruption but also the increasing inconsistency which players face in terms of fair treatment, insurance and contract issues.” Last month the general secretary for sports Panagiotis Bitsaxis sent an open letter to Hellenic Football Federation (EPO) president Sofoklis Pilavios criticising the Super League’s credibility to run the country’s top flight, suggesting EPO retake the responsibility of its operation.

EPO is yet to turn the proposal down but has said any restructuring will depend on the federation’s general meeting to be held in June. Both EPO and the government have pledged that measures to tighten security and legislation changes will be introduced in the summer. “We expect to see in practice the application of what we have heard,” Giannakopoulos added.

“Violence cannot be stamped out trough piecemeal decisions or isolated measures. Above all, perpetrators must be punished as impunity creates even bigger problems. “Proper policing, effective functioning of closed-circuit cameras in stadiums and proper training and certification of security staff are necessary,” he added.