Basketball: Greeks hurt in assault rifle clash: police

Two Greek hooligans were hurt after being shot with a Kalashnikov assault rifle by rival sports fans in the southern city of Corinth, police said on Saturday. The incident late on Friday, reported by the semi-state Athens News Agency, occurred shortly after Greek basketball champions Panathinaikos advanced to Sunday's Euroleague finals in Barcelona. The injured hooligans were part of a group of Panathinaikos supporters involved in a fight with fans from arch-rivals Olympiakos, ANA said. They were hospitalised with leg injuries but are not in immediate danger. Police recovered twelve 7.62-millimetre bullet casings from the crime scene but no arrests were made. Greek sport, particularly football and basketball, have been perennially plagued by violence but gun attacks of this sort are rare. The government this week threatened to cut funding to professional football leagues after pitch clashes marred the Greek cup final on April 30. Officials say some 2,500 hooligans around the country are at the root of the problem which persists despite a raft of laws passed in recent years.