Luke Steele 'not worried over Athens derby trouble'
Sunday 22 November 2015 17:52, UK
Former Barnsley goalkeeper Luke Steele says he did not fear for his own safety on Saturday, when crowd trouble led to the Panathinaikos-Olympiakos game being postponed.
The Athens derby was called off after fans and police clashed in the stadium where a sell-out crowd of 23,000 was waiting.
However, because away fans are not permitted to attend the fixture, Steele admitted it was the Olympiakos players who had more to worry about rather than him.
Steele, the Panathinaikos 'keeper, told Sky Sports News HQ: "I don't know if people know this but Olympiakos fans are not allowed to attend.
"So it is purely Panathinaikos fans in the stadium, along with seven thousand police.
"So it was the Olympiakos players who were scared to come out of the tunnel. They were getting all the abuse and the fireworks thrown at them.
"As the home team, we felt as safe as we can be, although we were concerned for friends and family and others in the stadium who were caught up in this.
"My family were spread around the stadium so I was more worried about them.
"It's tough to say why the disruption started. We were going through our pre-match routine in the changing rooms, and when we came out to warm up everything was normal.
"All of a sudden we learned that the Olympiakos players had gone out to warm up and got plenty of grief.
"Not just verbal but rockets and fire crackers coming on to the pitch. Over here, stadiums are full two hours before kick-off so their players started fearing for their safety.
"So then they didn't want to come out. And then 30 minutes before the game the police and fans got into a battle."
Unfortunately for Panathinaikos, the incident could see Olympiakos being awarded three points.
However, Steele - who played for Barnsley when they reached the FA Cup semi-finals in 2008 - has no regrets moving to Greece in the summer of 2014 to play his football.
It was the Olympiakos players who were scared to come out of the tunnel. They were getting all the abuse and the fireworks thrown at them.
The 31-year-old has had his contract extended until 2018 and he added: "For me it was the best thing I've ever done.
"It has given me the opportunity to play at a big club, with fantastic fans, believe it or not.
"They are fantastic people and have been brilliant to me. I have been given a chance to play in the Europa League which is something I would probably not have had in England.
"So I'd recommend it to anyone. It's usually only just this game that sees trouble, which is a massive derby, and when we play at their stadium the same thing happens.
"But it's still a great league to play in and a great club to play for."
