Nazi Salute: Greek soccer star Giorgos Katidis celebrates a game-winning goal by giving a Nazi salute. He has been banned for life from the national team. Image by youtube

The AEK Athens midfielder Giorgos Katidis has been handed a life ban from all national teams by Greece’s football federation EPO after he appeared to give a Nazi salute to supporters during a match.

Katidis, 20, a former captain of Greece’s Under-19 team, made the alleged salute in celebrating his winning goal in a 2-1 Super League victory over lowly Veria late on Saturday.

“The player’s action to salute to spectators in a Nazi manner is a severe provocation, insults all the victims of Nazi bestiality and injures the deeply pacifist and human character of the game,” EPO said in a statement.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Katidis was heavily criticised by political parties and fans on Twitter and Facebook following the incident at the Athens Olympic Stadium. Sunday marks the 70th anniversary of Greek Jew deportations in Nazi concentration camps in the Second World War.

AEK have asked Katidis to explain himself and will then decide his future at a board meeting next week.

Katidis denied he gave a Nazi salute. “I am not a fascist and would not have done it if I had known what it meant,” Katidis said on his Twitter account.

The player said he was simply pointing at Michalis Pavlis in the stands to dedicate the goal to his team-mate as he continues to fight health problems. AEK’s German coach, Ewald Lienen, backed Katidis.

“He is a young kid who does not have any political ideas. He most likely saw such a salute on the internet or somewhere else and did it without knowing what it means,” he said.

AEK are languishing in 10th place in the table with 29 points from 26 games. Veria are fourth from bottom. Katidis joined the club from Aris Salonika last year after impressing in Greece’s run to the final of the European Under-19 Championship where they lost to Spain.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’re near the end of our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we have a very ambitious goal of $127,000 by April 21.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a Passover gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Make a Passover Gift Today!

$90 $180

$360

Other amount