Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on May 7, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 24, 2026
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A Greek court convicted a man for manslaughter in the death of a policeman during a volleyball riot. The incident has led to a crackdown on sports violence.
PIRAEUS, Greece (Reuters) - A Greek court found a 20-year old man guilty of manslaughter on Wednesday over the 2023 death of a policeman hit by a flare during clashes with hooligans at a volleyball game.
Violence has plagued sport in Greece in recent years, with hardcore supporters following the same club across different sports and frequently clashing with police.
Authorities have promised a crackdown.
Policeman Georgios Lyngeridis, 31, was seriously injured as a rowdy crowd attacked police outside the stadium in the midst of a volleyball match between Olympiakos and Panathinaikos on December 7, 2023. He died from his injuries weeks later.
The defendant denied manslaughter. Disclosure of defendants' names is subject to restrictions in Greece.
The court handed him a life sentence - or up to 20 years in Greece - and an additional 19 years in prison on Wednesday.
Lyngeridis' death prompted a broader investigation that led to dozens of arrests of fans of the Olympiakos sports club.
Evangelos Marinakis, chair of the soccer division of the club, and four other board members are expected to stand trial on misdemeanour charges as part of that probe. They deny wrongdoing.
(Reporting by Renee Maltezou; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne and Bernadette Baum)
The article discusses a Greek man's conviction for manslaughter in the death of a policeman during a volleyball riot.
The incident involved fans of Olympiakos and Panathinaikos, and led to the death of policeman Georgios Lyngeridis.
The case has prompted a crackdown on sports violence in Greece, with several arrests and upcoming trials.
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