Greens held on day of protest

Panathinaikos players were given a heroes' welcome at the Olympic Stadium on Saturday following their controversial derby defeat to Olympiakos a week earlier but could only manage a 1-1 draw against lowly Atromitos in a game that was interrupted several times. The reigning champions, whose title has almost certainly slipped from their grasp, found themselves in the unusual position of being asked to perform a lap of honour before the start of the game.
The demand came from some 30,000 supporters at the Olympic Stadium, who chanted that Panathinaikos were the rightful champions.
Earlier, about 1,000 Greens fans had staged a protest on their motorcycles outside the stadium. The targets for their anger were the Super League and Olympiakos chairman Vangelis Marinakis following PAO's 2-1 derby defeat last Saturday, which left the Reds 10 points ahead in the title race.
Panathinaikos lost the game in the final minute to a goal that could have been disallowed for offside after having a good goal of their own chalked off and being denied what looked like a certain penalty.
Referee Dimitris Kalopoulos and his two assistants have been banned by the Super League from officiating any more games this season.
The anger of the home fans threatened to spill over several times during the game against Atromitos. The referee had to stop the game three times because of the unfurling of banners containing abusive language or because of fans getting too close to the pitch.
The game was relegated to a minor intrusion amid the protests. The Panathinaikos players seemed to find it difficult to focus with everything that was going on and Atromitos took advantage of their lack of concentration with Brazilian midfielder Brito giving the visitors the lead after 31 minutes.
The lead only lasted two minutes though, as French striker Sydney Govou, who was given a rare start, made it 1-1.
Neither side created many chances in the remainder of the game and the draw certainly suited Atromitos, who move up to 28 points, six clear of the relegation zone.
Panathinaikos have 51 points from 24 games.

source: SPORTINGREECE