Greek midfielder Giorgos Katidis has been banned for life from the team after he gave the Nazi salute to the crowd after he scored a goal.
The growing sentiment of neo-fascism in Greece appears to have spread to the beautiful game, as AEK Athens midfielder Giorgos Katidis "pulled a Di Canio" by apparently giving a Nazi salute after scoring in his side's 2-1 victory over Veria on Saturday.
For the gesture, the tattooed 20-year-old has been handed a life ban from the Greek National team, whom he once captained at U-19 level. Katidis, however, will not join Di Canio and Christian Abbiati in the pantheon of proud football fascists, as he has denied knowing what the gesture meant on Twitter.
Katidis insisted on Twitter and through the media that he had no idea what the salute meant and that he was simply "pointing to a mate in the stands."
The "pointing at a team mate" excuse is painfully unlikely, but it is quite possible that Katidis is naive/stupid enough to not know the meaning of his offensive celebration. (After all, this is a man half-witted enough to apparently have "Get Rich or Die Tryin'" tattooed just above his junk.)
While the club will decide his future at a board meeting next week, AEK's German manager Ewald Lienen has supported his midfielder, insisting he is apolitical and probably saw the salute "on the internet or somewhere else" without knowing what it meant. Which seems a perfectly good defense for repeating it in front of thousands of people.
-Wyatt Smith, Sports Editor for Clickege Media
For the gesture, the tattooed 20-year-old has been handed a life ban from the Greek National team, whom he once captained at U-19 level. Katidis, however, will not join Di Canio and Christian Abbiati in the pantheon of proud football fascists, as he has denied knowing what the gesture meant on Twitter.
Katidis insisted on Twitter and through the media that he had no idea what the salute meant and that he was simply "pointing to a mate in the stands."
The "pointing at a team mate" excuse is painfully unlikely, but it is quite possible that Katidis is naive/stupid enough to not know the meaning of his offensive celebration. (After all, this is a man half-witted enough to apparently have "Get Rich or Die Tryin'" tattooed just above his junk.)
While the club will decide his future at a board meeting next week, AEK's German manager Ewald Lienen has supported his midfielder, insisting he is apolitical and probably saw the salute "on the internet or somewhere else" without knowing what it meant. Which seems a perfectly good defense for repeating it in front of thousands of people.
-Wyatt Smith, Sports Editor for Clickege Media
