Shot down
PAOK president Ivan Savvidis banned for three years for carrying a gun onto the pitch against AEK Athens
Greek club have also been fined and docked three Superleague points after the shocking incident earlier this month
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PAOK president Ivan Savvidis has been banned from football for three years for carrying a gun onto the pitch against AEK Athens earlier this month.
The Greek club have also been fined and docked three Superleague points for the shocking incident.
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The incident occurred after PAOK were denied an injury-time goal against the league-leaders, with their Russian owner going ballistic.
Fernando Varela thought he'd given his team a stunning, last-gasp 1-0 win - only for his effort to be chalked-off.
After that, the chaos ensued, with Savvidis storming the pitch with terrified AEK Athens players darting back to their changing room.
Georgia-born Greek-Russian Savvidis came on the field twice, accompanied by his bodyguards.
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On the second occasion, with his coat taken off, a pistol appeared visible in his waistband.
AEK officials claimed the Russian threatened the referee the first time he entered the pitch, before he was pulled away.
SHOOTOUT PAOK president Ivan Savvidis invades Greek match against AEK Athens with A PISTOL as game is abandoned
The game was finally, officially, abandoned nearly two hours after the disallowed goal with the stadium cleared of spectators.
After the shocking incident, Savvidis did apologise for his actions, saying: "I am deeply sorry for what happened.
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“I had absolutely no right to enter the pitch the way I did.
"My only aim was to protect tens of thousands of PAOK fans from provocation, riots and casualties.
"Please believe I had no intention to engage in a brawl with our opponents or the referees.
"And I obviously did not threaten anybody.”
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