Tragedy struck at the Karaiskakis Stadium on a Sunday, the 8th of February 1981. A scorchy sunny day it was in the city of Piraeus, the famous port in Athens and home to the team donning the red and white stripes, Olympiacos.
The encounter between the two Greek giants (Olympiacos and AEK Athens) was considered the biggest football match in Greece at that time and expectedly, tickets had been sold out and as a matter of fact, fans as many as 35,450 were poised to grace the potentially keenly contested fixture in the Karaiskakis Stadium in Neo Faliro, Piraeus, Greece.
All was set to be decided at this huge game as Olympiacos were a mere two points ahead at the top of the table and a victory would bring them a step closer to their second consecutive title with only a few rounds of matches left to be played.
While an upset by AEK Athens would allow them to go back on top and reclaim their hopes for winning the trophy.
How It Started At The Karaiskakis Stadium
The game was billed to start at exactly 3:15 pm but an hour before the stipulated time, mammoth of fans had begun to troop into the old Karaiskakis Stadium and everyone was already taking their places in the stands, shaking the ground with their chants and cheers.
At that time, most fans preferred to get their tickets at Gate 7 simply because it comes cheap. Thus, Gate 7 attracted people from every background; from workers and pensioners to the elderly and students.
The cracker between the two Greek juggernauts had begun, and despite the quality of both teams, Olympiacos right from the blast of the kick-off whistle was in control of the game and dominated throughout the 90 minutes.
Although, the game ended in an overwhelming victory for Olympiacos, who turned a thrilling derby into a walk in the park by annihilating AEK Athens by 6 goals to nil.
But it was in the 84th minute when Olympiacos striker, Maik Galakos scored his team’s sixth goal to complete his hat-trick against AEK Athens at the old Karaiskakis Stadium – and further goals by Vangelis Kousoulakis, Nikos Vamvakoulas, and Kostas Orfanos.
The fans went ecstatic; celebrations had already begun, and everyone wanted to hail their heroes – this moment heralded the unfortunate incident and till today remains the biggest tragedy in Greek football and one of the greatest tragedies in football.
Ostensibly, the chants of “O-ly-mpia-cos, O-ly-mpia-cos” was echoed across the Karaiskakis stands, as hundreds of supporters rushed out from Gate 7 to take a front seat outside Gate 1, from where the players would depart after the game.
But on the eve before the game, an 18-year-old Olympiacos fan, Spiros, had promised his good friend Manolis that he wanted to meet his idol, which happens to be Olympiacos’ match-winner, Maik Galakos.
“I want to kiss him, just touch him and I won´t wash myself until next Sunday,” Spiros told his friend.
Galakos was going to exit from Gate 1 – hoping to see his fan and admirer, Spiros. But he (Spiros) wasn’t there. And so headed to the exit, a steep stairway led to the turnstiles and then to the outskirts of the old stadium.
Spiros was already among those trampled upon by hundreds of football fans at the stadium.
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Yet the door that leads out of the seventh gate was neglectfully left locked by security. With people constantly flocking in and pushing those in front of them, the situation soon got out of control.
Dozens of fans had fallen to the ground on the stairs to their way outside Gate 7 and got stomped upon while others were left unable to breathe. Euphoria turned into tragedy in a matter of seconds.
Eventually, the authorities intervened and broke open a pathway for people to escape, the police ripped out the turnstile only to come across swollen bodies on the floor hoping that ambulances would arrive, but sadly, it was already too late.
Several people were taken to Tzaneio hospital in Piraeus, while friends and relatives who have seen the news on TV or through the radio rush to find out if their loved ones are alright.
The Greek society was eclipsed in a great shock, as Greek football was on the edge of collapse. So much so that the then-prime minister Georgios Rallis was startled by the events and asked to be brought up to speed regarding the situation.
In no time, news that a total of 21 people (Spiros inclusive) who simply wanted to watch their favorite teams play a game had died and more than 50 injured persons were soon brought to light. Hundreds of people gathered at the hospital, queuing outside the rooms where the bodies of the dead were placed.
The entire Greek Nation held a memorial service a few days after the tragic loss of the 21 fans.
The Sports Secretary-General at the time, Kimon Koulouris, summoned the victims’ families, Members of the Greek Olympic Games Committee – who owned the Karaiskakis Stadium, Olympiacos directors and other competent authorities to a meeting.
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A compensation fee was agreed at the meeting, but the case wasn’t brought before a civil court until 20 months after the tragedy.
In October 1982, when the prosecutor called for it to be reopened and the people who neglected to open the gate after the end of the game were brought to justice and were sentenced to ten years in prison.
Several years after, the Old Karaiskakis Stadium was demolished for the new Olympiacos ground to be built from the scratch.
Since then, fans, members of the victims’ families, players, and coaching staff from both Olympiacos’ football and basketball teams gather outside the Olympiacos ground on every February 8 of every year to pay tribute to the 21 souls lost in the tragic event.
This is a unique story that proves how an accident can inspire a club to fight and aim to succeed, and a large fanbase to demonstrate its support and loyalty intensively for an additional reason.
