AEK Athens was declared the champions of Greece Super League (football) on Monday after an appeal by second-place PAOK Thessaloniki to overturn a first instance deduction of points for an interrupted match between the two teams was rejected.
The popular Athens side’s last championship came 24 years ago, as in the meantime it tied with Olympiacos Piraeus twice for first place – losing the trophy in head-to-head matchups criteria in both instances.
A much-anticipated derby on March 11 in Thessaloniki between PAOK and AEK was interrupted in the 90th minute after a goal by the home team was disqualified on a controversial off-side call. PAOK’s owner, his bodyguards, team officials and coaching staff stormed the field, with Greek-Russian owner Ivan Savvidis shown in photographs running around the pitch with a handgun holstered on his belt.
The game was awarded to AEK with a score of 0-3 and three points were deducted from PAOK for this season and another two for the 2018-19 season.
