Cretans don’t want the Greek National Team

By: Peter Katsiris | February 17th, 2009

It’s a rebellious move by supporters of OFI Crete, but the islanders have begun to protest the Hellenic Football Federation’s (EPO) choice to move Greece’s much anticipated qualifier with Israel from Piraeus to Greece.

In a written letter to the EPO, supporters known as ‘Krites 4′ demanded that the match could be played in Tripoli, Levadeia, or…the Giorgos Karaiskakis Stadium.

With harsh underlying ones in the letter directed to officials of the EPO and the Greek Super League board of members, the letter appears an act of vengeance after OFI claimed referee Christoforos Zografos completed several acts of injustice during OFI’s weekend fixture with Asteras Tripolis.

“To the EPO Super League, and whoever thinks we are not deserving of a spot in the Super League, and believe by sending OFI to the Beta Ethniki [Greece's second tier of football] that rotten football will disappear, you can forget about it,” read the letter’s introductory lines.

The letter went on to portray the club as utter victims of a monopoly put in place by the league, and supporters will “lose sleep” over their club’s possible demotion to the Beta Ethniki.

On the terms of the Greek National Team, the letter was clear in portraying the ‘Ethniki’ as unwelcome guests to Greece’s largest island. Including several issues in their decision to protest Greece’s probable match with Israel at the Pankritio Stadium, ‘Krites 4′ stemmed their frustration not from just their club’s struggles, but financial issues affecting farmers, specifically an issue regarding agricultural growers from Crete in Piraeus.

Immaturely, the club also named possible venues for the Greek National Team’s World Cup Qualifying campaign, but the destinations featured the stadiums of clubs which OFI supporters strongly oppose during this time.

“They can go play in Tripoli, with the best men of Levadeia, or that of the Karaiskaki,” said the letter.

It is unclear how the EPO will deal with this, but from a neutral party’s perspective, or even that of a loyal supporter of Otto Rehhagel’s Greece, the circumstances regarding the ‘Galanoleuki’ has gone from bad to worse in recent months.