Soccer-Attack on TV crew casts shadow over Greek weekend action

By Graham Wood ATHENS, April 5 (Reuters) - Another violent incident cast a cloud over Greek football on Sunday as five people were taken to hospital after a group attacked a television crew ahead of a match in Greece's second-tier Football League. The employees attacked at the Kaftanzoglio Stadium in Thessaloniki, who suffered minor injuries according to local media reports, worked for cable channel OTE TV. "This is another example of a severe episode of blind football fan violence, with the victims simply ordinary employees and technicians who were attacked while preparing the media coverage of the Football League match between Iraklis and AEL Larissa," deputy sports minister Stavros Kontonis told reporters. "The government condemns these morbid phenomena and assures supporters that the legislative work it is going through is aiming to eliminate the root causes of the problems afflicting Greek football... we hope that all will realise the gravity of the situation and support our legislative work, even if some may have reservations about aspects of the bill." Kontonis has already suspended all matches in Greece for a one-week spell once this season and imposed a two-week supporter ban in recent weeks as the state cracks down on violence. OLYMPIAKOS LOSE On the pitch in Super League action, Olympiakos Piraeus are four points away from winning a 42nd domestic title despite suffering a surprise 3-1 defeat at PAS Giannina on Sunday. Vitor Pereira's team were out of sorts against a well-organised Giannina as goals from Slovakian forward Brana Ilic, Greek striker Michalis Manias and Spanish midfielder Noe Acosta, who was later sent off, gave the hosts the three points. Luka Milivojevic grabbed a consolation for Olympiakos, who have 67 points and now hold an eight-point lead over second-placed Panathinaikos. The Greens threw away a two-goal lead in a 2-2 home draw with Asteras Tripolis 24 hours earlier in a clash featuring the league' two top scorers at the Apostolos Nikolaidis stadium. Tripolis' Argentine striker Jeronimo Barrales -- the league's leading marksman - took his tally to 16 for the season with a double after the break to cancel out a first-half brace from the league's second-top scorer Marcus Berg. Panathinaikos' Swedish striker had netted his 12th and 13th goals of the campaign in the opening half to set up what could have been a vital win to put pressure on the leaders with four matches to play. PAOK claimed a 2-1 home victory over Xanthi with former Greece striker Dimitris Papadopoulos scoring in each half. The win saw PAOK move within two points of Panathinaikos who have 59. At the bottom, Ergotelis gave their slim survival hopes a shot in the arm with a crucial 2-1 home victory over relegation rivals Panthrakikos. The Cretan club, however, are still six points adrift of Panthrakikos and Levadiakos, who are hovering just above the relegation places occupied by Ergotelis and Platanias. (Editing by Ken Ferris)