Greek footballers stage sit-in protest against refugee deaths

Footballers in Greece staged a sit-in protest at the start of a second-tier league match against the death toll of asylum seekers trying to reach the Aegean islands.

The gesture of solidarity took place for two minutes before the game between AEL Larissa and Acharnaikos in the Thessalian city of Larissa.

As the match kicked off, all 22 footballers as well as the coaches and substitutes sat in silence for two minutes in a show of respect to the hundreds of refugees who have lost their lives while trying to escape conflict or persecution in war-torn countries such as Syria and Iraq.

An announcement over the club’s PA system stated: “The administration of AEL, the coaches and the players will observe two minutes of silence just after the start of the match in memory of the hundreds of children who continue to lose their lives every day in the Aegean due to the brutal indifference of the EU and Turkey.

“The players of AEL will protest by sitting down for two minutes in an effort to drive the authorities to mobilise all those who seem to have been desensitised to the heinous crimes that are being perpetrated in the Aegean.”

Greece last year became the main gateway for people seeking refuge in Europe last year, with many undertaking hazardous sea crossings in small boats.

33 asylum seekers, including five children, drowned in the Aegean Sea on Saturday after their boat capsized as they attempted to cross from Turkey to Greece.

The gesture a day after the International Olympic Committee announced that the flame for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro will pass through the Eleonas refugee camp in Athens, and that one refugee will be among the torch bearers.

A group of 18 members of the European Parliament, including 14 Greek politicians, have called for this year's Nobel Peace prize to be awarded to residents of Greece's Aegean islands for their efforts in handling an influx of migrants and refugees.