The unwanted side of Greek football has reared its ugly head again, with referee Athanasios Tzilos assaulted in Larissa on Wednesday morning.
At approximately 09:00 on Wednesday morning, 35-year old Super League referee Tzilos arrived at his office where he works as a civil engineer in Larissa, however before he stepped out of his car, he was set upon by four hooded individuals. Tzilos was dragged out from his car, beaten by the attackers, and police and ambulance services promptly arrived on the scene after members of the public had made the relevant telephone calls. Tzilos was transported to the General University Hospital of Larissa after he had received blows to the head and legs. He’s said to be in a stable condition physically, however reports revealed that he is state of shock after the brutal attack. Photos published online display blood on the street from the assault and the broken window on the left side of Tzilos’ car:
The act of despicable violence against Tzilos has widely been condemned by the Greek footballing community and all matches which run under the guidance of the Larissa Football Clubs Association have been postponed. It is believed that Tzilos was attacked because of ‘footballing reasons’. Following this incident, Evangelos Grammenos and Vitor Melo Pereira asked Super League referees to officiate as normal in the upcoming championship matches scheduled for round 15, however they have declined. As a result, there is a real threat that the 15th round of the 2018/2019 Super League won’t go ahead this weekend, and the Super League organization revealed that it won’t use Football League referees instead. It remains to be seen whether Super League referees change their minds, or if they stick by their decision not to work over league matches.
So far, Tzilos has refereed the Olympiacos - Asteras Tripolis (2:1), Panathinaikos - PAS Giannina (2:1), AEK - Aris (4:0), Atromitos - PAOK (1:1), OFI - Aris (1:2) and Xanthi - Olympiacos (1:1) Super League matches in the 2018/2019 campaign. He also took charge of AEK’s 2:1 victory against Lamia in the Greek Cup.
