Panathinaikos hit with fresh sanctions

Athens giants Panathinaikos were on Tuesday ordered to close part of their stadium for the rest of the season as fall-out from November's derby crowd trouble continued. Greek deputy sports minister Stavros Kontonis told the club to shut sections of the Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium used by hard-core fans. Panathinaikos are in the dock after trouble forced the November 21 derby with Olympiakos to be called off before kick-off. They were also fined 90,000 euros ($98,000) on top of already being deducted three points and forced to play four home games behind closed doors. The club said in a statement they would appeal what they described as "an illegal and unprecedented decision". Match referee Andreas Pappas called off the high-risk clash after fans clashed with police both inside and outside the stadium. Police said 14 arrests were made and that three officers were injured, one seriously. Fans threw rocks and other debris at police, who responded with tear gas. Flares were thrown at Olympiakos players when they appeared for their warm-up on the pitch. Olympiakos vice-president Savvas Theodoridis said flares struck Olympiakos forward Alfred Finnbogason, "burning" the Iceland international's hand, and Serbian midfielder Luka Milivojevic