It looked like things were going to be business as usual when AEL Larissa prepared to host Acarnaikos in the second division of Greek football on Friday. When the referee blew his whistle to start the match, however, something odd happened -- everyone sat down.
Greek soccer players sit during match in protest of refugee treatment
Instead of playing the game, both teams took a seat for the first two minutes of “action.”
All 22 players on the pitch and all of their coaches on the sideline took a seat for the first two minutes of the match, an action taken in protest of the treatment of refugees fleeing from war-torn countries like Syria by the Greek government. More than two dozen people trying to get into Europe from Turkey drowned when their boat sank in the Aegean Sea on Thursday, which only added to an increasingly staggering death toll in the region under depressingly similar circumstances.
The teams’ action was greeted with applause from the fans in the stands, and after two minutes they stood up and got the game underway. Will their gesture make a huge impact on things? No, probably not. But this is what they could do, and they’ve made their feelings known. That’s worth something.
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