Post by Editor on Mar 18, 2013 4:48:55 GMT
Fury in Greece as footballer raises arm in 'Nazi salute' after scoring winning goal (but later claims he was pointing to injured team-mate)
AEK Athens midfielder Giorgos Katidis raised his right arm yesterday
Had scored winning goal in 2-1 Super League win over Veria in Athens
Hellenic Football Federation bans him from Greek national teams for life
Katidis denies racism and claims he was pointing to team-mate in crowd
Club's German coach says 'he is a young kid who has no political ideas'
By MARK DUELL
PUBLISHED: 15:32, 17 March 2013 | UPDATED: 17:26, 17 March 2013
Shocking: AEK Athens midfielder Giorgos Katidis raises his hand in a Nazi-style salute yesterday
This is the shocking moment when a footballer appeared to make a Nazi salute on the pitch.
AEK Athens midfielder Giorgos Katidis raised his right arm after scoring the winning goal in his side's 2-1 Super League win over Veria in Greece yesterday.
He was banned from all Greek national teams for life by the Hellenic Football Federation for the action, which said the action was ‘a profound insult to all victims of Nazi atrocities’ and condemned it ‘unequivocally and categorically’.
The Federation said in a statement: ‘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.’
Katidis was heavily criticised on social media for the celebration, although he later insisted he did not know the meaning of the gesture.
He was said to have claimed that he was pointing to team-mate Michalis Pavlis, who is recovering from injury, in the crowd.
Katidis said on Twitter: ‘I am not racist in any way. I abhor fascism. I would not have done it if I knew that it meant something. I know the consequences and would not do it ever.’
Scroll down for video
Arm raised: Katidis (centre) celebrates the goal during a Super League football match against Veria yesterday
Amazed: Giorgos Katidis's Brazilian-born team-mate Roger Guerreiro (left) looks at him in astonishment
The Federation said the ban was a unanimous decision from its executive committee who met after the incident at the Athens Olympic Stadium.
AEK have demanded an apology from the player and said the board would meet to decide his future. But the club’s German coach Ewald Lienen backed Katidis.
More...
WWII in color: Rare photos from 1942 show Flying Fortress bombers and their heroic crews in The Mighty 8th Command
Savers to take a hit on their deposits as Cypus becomes fifth country to receive eurozone bailout
I was called a 'n*****' and 'monkey': Rebel Tory MP reveals racist abuse he suffered growing up on a rough London estate
‘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 in 10th place in the table with 29 points from 26 games. Veria are fourth from bottom. Katidis has played for Greece's Under-17, U19 and U21 teams, but has not been capped at senior level.
He was captain for the U19 side and 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.
Pleading innocence: Katidis had been heavily criticised on social media for the celebration, although he has insisted he did not know the meaning of the gesture
Punishment: Katidis has been banned from all Greek national teams for life by the Hellenic Football Federation
Today marks the 70th anniversary of Greek Jew deportations in Nazi concentration camps in the Second World War.
'I am not racist in any way. I abhor fascism. I would not have done it if I knew that it meant something. I know the consequences and would not do it ever'
Giorgos Katidis
Jewish residents of Thessaloniki yesterday went to the city’s Freedom Square to mark the day.
David Saltiel, leader of the city's Jewish community, said: ‘The commemoration is an honor for the city of Thessaloniki. But some people look upon this era nostalgically and are bringing back the old Nazi symbols.’
He was referring to the emergence of the extreme right-wing Golden Dawn, a party with neo-Nazi roots that swept into Parliament for the first time in June on an anti-immigrant platform amid the country’s financial crisis.
Read more: www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2294776/Greek-footballer-Giorgos-Katidis-raises-hand-Nazi-salute-scoring-winning-goal.html#ixzz2NrbUgesg
Follow us: @mailonline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
AEK Athens midfielder Giorgos Katidis raised his right arm yesterday
Had scored winning goal in 2-1 Super League win over Veria in Athens
Hellenic Football Federation bans him from Greek national teams for life
Katidis denies racism and claims he was pointing to team-mate in crowd
Club's German coach says 'he is a young kid who has no political ideas'
By MARK DUELL
PUBLISHED: 15:32, 17 March 2013 | UPDATED: 17:26, 17 March 2013
Shocking: AEK Athens midfielder Giorgos Katidis raises his hand in a Nazi-style salute yesterday
This is the shocking moment when a footballer appeared to make a Nazi salute on the pitch.
AEK Athens midfielder Giorgos Katidis raised his right arm after scoring the winning goal in his side's 2-1 Super League win over Veria in Greece yesterday.
He was banned from all Greek national teams for life by the Hellenic Football Federation for the action, which said the action was ‘a profound insult to all victims of Nazi atrocities’ and condemned it ‘unequivocally and categorically’.
The Federation said in a statement: ‘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.’
Katidis was heavily criticised on social media for the celebration, although he later insisted he did not know the meaning of the gesture.
He was said to have claimed that he was pointing to team-mate Michalis Pavlis, who is recovering from injury, in the crowd.
Katidis said on Twitter: ‘I am not racist in any way. I abhor fascism. I would not have done it if I knew that it meant something. I know the consequences and would not do it ever.’
Scroll down for video
Arm raised: Katidis (centre) celebrates the goal during a Super League football match against Veria yesterday
Amazed: Giorgos Katidis's Brazilian-born team-mate Roger Guerreiro (left) looks at him in astonishment
The Federation said the ban was a unanimous decision from its executive committee who met after the incident at the Athens Olympic Stadium.
AEK have demanded an apology from the player and said the board would meet to decide his future. But the club’s German coach Ewald Lienen backed Katidis.
More...
WWII in color: Rare photos from 1942 show Flying Fortress bombers and their heroic crews in The Mighty 8th Command
Savers to take a hit on their deposits as Cypus becomes fifth country to receive eurozone bailout
I was called a 'n*****' and 'monkey': Rebel Tory MP reveals racist abuse he suffered growing up on a rough London estate
‘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 in 10th place in the table with 29 points from 26 games. Veria are fourth from bottom. Katidis has played for Greece's Under-17, U19 and U21 teams, but has not been capped at senior level.
He was captain for the U19 side and 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.
Pleading innocence: Katidis had been heavily criticised on social media for the celebration, although he has insisted he did not know the meaning of the gesture
Punishment: Katidis has been banned from all Greek national teams for life by the Hellenic Football Federation
Today marks the 70th anniversary of Greek Jew deportations in Nazi concentration camps in the Second World War.
'I am not racist in any way. I abhor fascism. I would not have done it if I knew that it meant something. I know the consequences and would not do it ever'
Giorgos Katidis
Jewish residents of Thessaloniki yesterday went to the city’s Freedom Square to mark the day.
David Saltiel, leader of the city's Jewish community, said: ‘The commemoration is an honor for the city of Thessaloniki. But some people look upon this era nostalgically and are bringing back the old Nazi symbols.’
He was referring to the emergence of the extreme right-wing Golden Dawn, a party with neo-Nazi roots that swept into Parliament for the first time in June on an anti-immigrant platform amid the country’s financial crisis.
Read more: www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2294776/Greek-footballer-Giorgos-Katidis-raises-hand-Nazi-salute-scoring-winning-goal.html#ixzz2NrbUgesg
Follow us: @mailonline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
