Conference League
In the run-up to the European away match against the Greek PAOK, Club Brugge has urged its 1,000 traveling fans to be cautious. Last week, riots broke out before and after the first leg in Bruges. “We do not recommend wearing Club colors outside the stadium.”
On Thursday, Club Brugge will play PAOK for a historic semi-final of the Conference League. It should be a celebration, but the events on the sidelines of the first leg suggest the worst. Then there were confrontations between PAOK hooligans and the police, after which PAOK surprisingly announced that it would file a complaint.
It means that the atmosphere in Thessaloniki will be very tense. Club therefore asks its traveling fans to “exercise the necessary caution”, as can be read via the official channels. “We do not recommend wearing Club colors outside the stadium. Try to stay in groups as much as possible and strictly follow the guidelines of our stewards on site and the local authorities.”
On Tuesday, Club will have another meeting with representatives of UEFA and PAOK to guarantee the safety of the supporters in Greece as much as possible.
Don’t challenge
After the Club Brugge-PAOK match on Thursday April 11 and the problems that arose at the Jan Breydel Stadium, PAOK fans posted many hate messages on social media, mainly aimed at the Bruges city council, the Bruges football supporters, the police and the mayor.
Bruges mayor Dirk De fauw is therefore concerned that supporters of Club Brugge who travel to Greece for the second match next Thursday could become victims of retaliation by PAOK supporters.
“I urge Bruges supporters to be vigilant and careful. Certainly do not leave without a valid admission ticket and certainly do not adopt a challenging attitude towards the Greek supporters,” said Mayor Dirk De fauw.
