Marousi: five arrests in checks outside the OAKA stadium

Five arrests were made by the Hellenic Police on Thursday 20 August 2026 at the Athens Olympic Sports Centre in Marousi, as part of heightened security measures ahead of a football match, according to an announcement released on Friday 21 August 2026. Those arrested are aged 44, 39, 36, 27 and 17. The checks were carried out outside the stadium gates, on supporters as they arrived, with the stated aim of preventing incidents of sports violence before they could be carried inside the facilities. This is the standard practice followed at high-alert matches, where the filtering takes place around the perimeter and not only at the entrances. Checks on arriving supporters as a rule involve a body search and an inspection of the items they are carrying, so that firecrackers, flares or other prohibited items can be found before they reach the stands.

A hand-held flare was found on the 17-year-old, who is a minor. Small quantities of narcotic substances were found on the other four. Case files were drawn up, as applicable, for breaches of the legislation on addictive substances and on flares. All five are presumed innocent until the courts rule otherwise, and none is named. No identifying detail beyond his age is given for the minor, as required by the protection of minors involved in criminal proceedings. Possession of flares and pyrotechnics at sports venues is dealt with under a separate legal framework from drugs cases, which is why the case files were drawn up individually rather than as a single one.

The case was handled by the Sub-Directorate for Crime Prosecution and Investigation of North-Eastern Attica and by the OAKA Police Station, while the case file was submitted to the competent public prosecutor. The Olympic Sports Centre, in Marousi, is one of the largest sports facilities in the country and the matches it hosts are as a rule accompanied by an extensive police presence in the surrounding streets and at the metro stations. The announcement is part of the series of periodic updates from the Hellenic Police on checks in Attica, which are usually released the day after the incidents. The two services that handled the case cover, respectively, the wider area and the sports complex itself.

The police did not announce which match it was or which teams were playing, details that do not emerge from the text and cannot be inferred. Nor is it disclosed how many supporters were checked in total, how many officers took part in the operation, or whether any other incidents occurred before, during or after the end of the game. It is not made clear whether the five people arrested were connected to each other or whether these were isolated incidents at different points around the perimeter, nor the type and exact quantity of the substances found. Finally, there is no mention of whether those arrested were banned from entering sports venues, a measure provided for in sports violence cases, or of when the case files will be examined. Nor is it stated whether the operation also led to other recorded offences without an arrest.