Seven men in Greece were sentenced to life in prison on Wednesday following their conviction for the brutal murder of a 19-year-old football fan.
This heinous crime, which sent shock waves through the country, served as a catalyst for a rigorous crackdown on football-related violence.
The incident, which occurred in February 2022, involved a group of 12 defendants who were involved in the vicious attack that unfolded in the northern city of Thessaloniki.
Last week, all 12 perpetrators were found guilty, and during Wednesday's sentencing hearing, seven of them were condemned to spend the rest of their lives behind bars.
The remaining five individuals received sentences ranging from 19 to 20 years in prison.
Alkis Kambanos, the victim, succumbed to his stab wounds near his own home, while two others sustained injuries.
The assailants had set out on a mission to target rival fans indiscriminately, searching for them in an area adjacent to the stadium used by the Thessaloniki football club Aris.
While the sentences delivered a sense of vindication for Kambanos' grieving family, the pain of their irreparable loss remained palpable.
"This is a vindication for our family, but my boy is never coming back," expressed Melina Kakoulidou, the bereaved mother, addressing reporters outside the courtroom.
The attackers, armed with knives and wooden bats, arrived at the scene of the tragedy in three vehicles.
The defendants, aged between 21 and 26, were apprehended by authorities after diligent police work successfully traced one of the cars involved in the assault.
The murder ignited a wave of initiatives to combat fan violence in Greek cities.
Thessaloniki's two main rival clubs, Aris and PAOK, supported several campaigns, including charity matches, in a unified effort to address the issue.
As a result of the incident, supporters' clubs voluntarily imposed attendance limitations during away games while law enforcement conducted raids on numerous supporters' clubs, some of which had long been suspected of organizing attacks.
"There were 12 men who were armed and filled with hatred. They attacked unarmed people. The sentences they received were not excessive; they were fair," commented Yiannis Poultsidis, the lawyer representing the victim's family, emphasizing the just nature of the penalties.
Aristidis Kambanos, the father of the late football fan, recounted the harrowing experience of facing the defendants throughout the emotionally charged six-month trial.
"There were many difficult moments during the trial, especially listening to the testimony from the medical examiners," he shared. "We were not seeking the annihilation of Alkis' killers. A crime was committed, and they were punished."
