AEK Athens midfielder Giorgos Katidis was handed a life ban from all national teams by Greece‘s football federation EPO on Sunday after he appeared to give a Nazi salute to supporters during a match.
Katidis, 20, a former captain of Greece’s under-19 team, made the alleged salute in celebrating his winning goal in a 2-1 Super League victory over lowly Veria late on Saturday.
“The player’s action to salute to spectators in a Nazi manner is a severe provocation, insults all the victims of Nazi bestiality and injures the deeply pacifist and human character of the game
“The player’s action to salute to spectators in a Nazi manner is a severe provocation, insults all the victims of Nazi bestiality and injures the deeply pacifist and human character of the game,” EPO said in statement.
Katidis was heavily criticised by political parties and fans on Twitter and Facebook following the incident at the Athens Olympic Stadium. Sunday marks the 70th anniversary of Greek Jew deportations in Nazi concentration camps in the Second World War.
AEK have asked Katidis to explain himself and will then decide his future at a board meeting next week.
Katidis denied he gave a Nazi salute. “I am not a fascist and would not have done it if I had known what it meant,” Katidis said on his Twitter account.
The player said he was simply pointing at Michalis Pavlis in the stands to dedicate the goal to his team mate as he continues to fight health problems.
AEK’s German coach Ewald Lienen backed Katidis.
“He is a young kid who does not have any political ideas. He most likely saw such a salute on the Internet or somewhere else and did it without knowing what it means,” he said.
AEK are languishing in 10th place in the table with 29 points from 26 games. Veria are fourth from bottom.
Katidis joined the club from Aris Salonika last year after impressing in Greece’s run to the final of the European Under-19 Championship where they lost to Spain.
AEK Athens soccer player Giorgos Katidis has insisted he is not a racist after celebrating a goal against Veria on Saturday by performing a Nazi salute that drew condemnation for colleagues and politicians.
Responding to heavy criticism after the Super League game, Katidis said he was unaware of the implications of his celebration.
“I despise fascism,” the player said via his Twitter account. “I would not have done it if I knew what something like this meant. I know what the consequences are and I would never have done it.
The midfielder moved to AEK last year from Aris Thessaloniki. He has represented Greece at Under-17 and Under-19 levels.
Reports suggested that Katidis was criticized by some of his teammates after the match and his coach Ewald Lienen said the 20-year-old was reduced to tears after seeing the media coverage of his celebration.
“He hasn’t got a clue about politics,” said the German coach. “That’s why we shouldn’t condemn him. Any footballer who knows about my past, where I’m from and my political beliefs would know that would know that such a gesture [on purpose] would lead to that being his last game for AEK.”
AEK won the game at the Olympic Stadium in Athens 2-1, a crucial victory in their bid to avoid relegation.
The result was overshadowed by Katidis’s gesture, which came on the same day that members of Thessaloniki’s Jewish community marked the 70th anniversary of the deportation of Jews from the northern city to Nazi extermination camps.
Democratic Left, a junior partner in Greece’s coalition government, issued a statement condemning Katidis’s salute. It questioned whether the player was aware that AEK was a club founded by refugees from Istanbul, or Constantinople as it was at the time.
“We await to see the reaction from AEK and Greek soccer authorities,” said Democratic Left.
Golden Dawn, the far-right party that entered Parliament last summer, have defended the Nazi salute, which has been performed in public by some its MPs, including leader Nikos Michaloliakos, by claiming that it is an ancient Greek greeting.
