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The ugly side of the beautiful game [InTime News]
Welcome to the weekly round-up of news by Kathimerini English Edition. The government unveiled its latest measures aimed at confronting fan violence this week, which include a two-month ban on all fan attendance at Greece’s top flight soccer games, the installation of high-definition cameras in the stadiums of the country’s top league and the criminalization of all cases of sport violence. The announcement was made in response to the serious injury of a police officer last week during a volleyball match between rivals Olympiacos and Panathinaikos. The officer, who faced life-threatening injuries, had his leg amputated by doctors after it was struck by a naval flare during the unrest. An 18-year-old has been remanded in police custody on suspicion of firing the flare. The government also submitted a list of approximately 200 known hooligans to the Supreme Court Prosecutor’s Office, encapsulating incidents of both fan and non-fan violence over the past year. This is the third time in two years that the government has sought to find a way to stem the continued incidents of violence at Greek sporting events, with the government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis stating that there would by “dynamic interventions” to control the situation. Yet, in an opinion poll, the majority of respondents were doubtful that the current slew of measures would alter the situation. Within the Hellenic Police, officers have demanded that the police should no longer be responsible for policing Greece’s sport venues. On Monday, uniformed officers held a protest rally across the country and on Thursday, several squads of riot police initially refused to take their positions outside the stadium of Panathinaikos for the latter’s European game against Maccabi Haifa. Given the importance of the game, the police officers did eventually move to assume their duty. Spotlight
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OPINION
 A few days ago, Kathimerini English Edition celebrated the 25th anniversary of its partnership with the New York Times. As journalism is undergoing profound transformations, and in many cases objectivity and truth-seeking have fallen victim to ideological intransigence and the speed with which digital platforms work, many traditional print publications in Europe and the US have vanished. In these rather challenging times both Kathimerini and the NYT have not only managed to survive but remain on the forefront of journalistic excellence as badly needed independent voices of covering all the news that is fit to print. Their rather natural collaboration has flourished and has been widely praised. The reporting, as well as the analyses and commentaries, in Kathimerini English Edition aim at offering readers a reliable fair-minded assessment about political, economic, and cultural developments and trends in Greece, Cyprus and the region. As the late Kathimerini owner Aristides Alafouzos had envisioned it in 1998 (when the joint project was launched), Kathimerini English Edition – and in the same spirit this weekly ‘GreeK Letter’ – serves with a sense of cosmopolitanism as Greece’s window to the world. With the same commitment to robust and quality journalism that aspires to be open and objective, the effort continues into its second quarter of a century. |
| CHART OF THE WEEK |
 While the vast majority of Greek hotels are between one and three stars (74% of hotels, and 47% of available rooms), the latter two categories in particular are increasingly becoming a rarity. Between 2013 and 2023, the number of one-star hotels decreased by approximately 20% while the number of two-star hotels declined by 28%. These hotels either closed down completely, were sold to be upgraded by new ownership, or were upgraded by the existing owners (primarily using their own resources, as securing financing for small businesses is a difficult prospect). |
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| ECONOMY IN A NUTSHELL |
| “The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 1,290.70 points, up 1.23% from last week. Friday saw significantly higher turnover at 177.3 million euros, an exception to a quiet December.” |
| “Greece completed the early repayment of two instalments of its bilateral loans, totalling 5.29 billion euros. In this way, the financing needs for the next two years are almost halved while also deflating Greece’s cushion of cash reserves, which was designed to decrease following the attainment of investment grade.” |
| “A Bank of Greece report warned that the annual cost of climate change for Greece by the end of the century could reach 2.2 billion euros, approximately 1% of the country’s current GDP. It also warned that the country risks mass desertification, at a magnitude of 40%, if no action is taken to limit carbon dioxide emissions.” |
| WHAT'S ON THE AGENDA |
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Editor's Pick The recurring acknowledgment that our country consistently ranks below average among OECD country scores in all three assessed sections of the competition is increasingly being accepted as the norm.Dora AntoniouRead the article |
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