The handball final between Alkaloid and AEK not only did not take place, but was remembered as an example of pressures, threats and sport capitulating to external influences. Alkaloid's representative, Zoran Cvetanovski, revealed details of the drama behind the scenes to MRTV. According to him, since the morning technical meeting there were clear signals that a problem could arise due to the number of Greek fans allowed – limited to 200 people due to security assessments and a decision by the Ministry of Interior. Some of the AEK fans still traveled to Skopje, without tickets, and issued an ultimatum to their own club.
"We had signals throughout the day, because those conversations lasted from 10 a.m. when the technical meeting was, when everything had to be agreed upon, how the protocol would proceed. Our club and the Ministry of Interior made a decision, given everything that was happening in the country, to limit the number of tickets for guests to 200. Some of the AEK fans traveled to Skopje, some did not. And here a problem arose. They gave an ultimatum to the AEK representatives that they would suffer consequences if they appeared on the field. The AEK management therefore did not allow them to appear. The AEK handball players had tears in their eyes, but they did not dare to oppose the management's decision," Zoran Cvetanovski, a representative of "Alkaloid" told MRTV.
He added: "It was known for sure that the contingent was 200. Efforts were made, they were told not to come. But they traveled regardless of whether they had tickets or not. Our bodies from the Ministry of Interior know their job, they were determined that it had to be that way. I will not allow myself to interpret the criteria, the rules and all those who have their own rules of the game in the EHV. I will not allow myself to do that. At first, it is logical that it should be 10:0. Anything is possible. I think that Alkaloid should win the trophy, but I would wait, because another variant may appear."
The European Handball Federation (EHF) will decide on the final between AEK and Alkaloid in handball on Tuesday, after the Greek handball players refused to take to the field in the "Boris Trajkovski" hall. The AEK management conditioned the match on the entry of all fans, unofficially around 1000, although 200 tickets have been allocated for visiting fans.
"The EHF European Cup Final between RK Alkaloid and AEK Athens has been postponed for the time being. Further information will be announced later," the EHF announced.
This is not the first time AEK has refused to play. In March this year, the second leg of the EHF Cup quarter-final between Partizan and AEK never started after the Greek club's players retreated to the dressing room due to cannon-like explosions that fell on the pitch just minutes before the scheduled kick-off.
The Greeks returned to the field once, followed by another explosion, after which they did not return. In the meantime, the audience calmed down, the captain of RK Partizan, Nikola Zečević, called on the fans to cheer fairly and in a sporting manner, but the Greeks remained determined not to play in Belgrade for security reasons. The final decision was made by the EHF delegate after an hour and 40 minutes of waiting.
