Five N. Philadelphia – Halkidona municipal councilors were hospitalized on Monday evening, after a group of AEK FC fans barged into the council hall, in protest of the construction of the football stadium in the area.
According to mayor Aris Vasilopoulos, the hooligans interrupted the council meeting and vandalized the room, demanding the stadium construction be discussed, despite not being on the agenda. The mayor informed the fans of a scheduled meeting with fans representatives on Tuesday to discuss the issues in a calm and civil environment.
The mayor has named councilor Giorgos Arapoglou as the instigator of the violent acts that took place on Monday. Furthermore, a number of websites and newspapers allied with AEK cultivated tension with the municipal authority, calling the mayor a “Trojan horse” for “continuing the war against AEK”.
Mr. Vasilopoulos had called the council to denounce the rejection of the Forest Directorate’s report regarding an adjacent grove. The current plans for the construction of the AEK FC football stadium require that trees be cut down. Local residents, while initially supporting the construction of a stadium in the area, have strongly objected to the cutting of the trees.
