Shocking events occurred moments ago as riot police hit and forced Greek professional basketball players to leave the court where they were exercising their constitutional right to strike.

Below is the video showing just a small part of what went down in Hellenicon arena, where AEK-Ikaros is scheduled to be played.

The game was due to start at 15:30 CET, but Greek Players Union representatives, without their president Lazaros Papadopoulos, and backed up even by AEK Greek players showed up at the arena and entered the court, not allowing the game to start, per their constitutional right as the players had voted for a general strike by a massive 89.5%.

The players were just peacefully sitting at the court centre when a battalion of riot police invaded the court and started hitting and pushing the players to force them outside the court, so the game could start.

As that wasn’t enough, the referees, working as pawns of the clubs rich bosses and Greek Basketball Federation blackmailed AEK players to get ready for the game in fifteen minutes or they would give away the game to Ikaros 20-0 and deduct points from AEK.

Greek players are furious and displaying the bruises they suffered by the unprovoked hits by the riot police.

Already Lazaros Papadopoulos has decided to leave PAOK (and probably Greek A1) sick of the situation and stating “I will not play basketball with chains around my neck”.

Spread and share the word. If it happens once, it can happen again. Prevent European basketball from turning into a Police and fascist state.

Greek state TV, which is ran on tax payers’ money is censoring everything so far, only showing games between teams whose players are strike breakers.

Update: A new video circulated showing what was happening more clearly. Riot police, including a thug wearing sunglasses so he would not be recognised, pushing, manhandling Greek players, hitting them with their metal reinforced boots in the lower part of the players legs, where they knew cameras wouldn’t be zooming.


We also have the first evidence of the violence exercised over the players.

In the meanwhile the vice-president Ioannis Bourousis and board member of PSAK (Players Union) have resigned. And as everything else is occurring was not enough Iraklis-Panellinios game (Iraklis playing with just foreigners and teenagers, while Panellinios players being strike breakers) was suspended for more than an hour after local fans got into a fight with Panellinios’ Derrick Byars.

The game resumed after the stands were evacuated by the police. Just another ordinary day in the jungle of Greek A1.