Panathinaikos face punishment after fans chase players

(GETTY IMAGES)

Panathinaikos face punishment from the Greek Super League after fans chased the players off the pitch and pelted them with missiles following a surprise home defeat at the weekend.

Angry supporters invaded the Olympic Stadium pitch on Saturday after the 1-0 loss to newly-promoted Olympiakos Volos. Fans also attacked the VIP area, before being ushered away by stewards and police.

"The disciplinary committee of the Super League will meet to discuss this issue today and then in all probability there will be a disciplinary hearing on Thursday to decide what punishment the club will receive," a Super League spokesman told Reuters.

Panathinaikos were fined €96,000 euros last Thursday for previous disturbances this season, so the Super League can be expected to come down hard on them.

"I suspect we will be receiving a summons for a disciplinary hearing within the week," a Panathinaikos club spokesman told Reuters.

"I'm sure that there will be a fine but I don't know if there will be a penalty such as having to play behind closed doors or anything like that. As far as I know the damages to the stadium were minimal if any."

The result left Jesualdo Ferreira's team five points adrift of leaders and arch rivals Olympiakos Piraeus at the halfway point in the season, a situation which prompted club president Nikos Pateras to step down on Monday.