Ivan Savvidis, Greek soccer club owner, threatens referee while carrying pistol

The Greek soccer league Superleague has been suspended after the owner of PAOK FC brought a pistol in a hip holster onto the field while threatening a referee at the end of a match.

Ivan Savvidis reportedly confronted the ref after a PAOK FC goal was called off for offsides in a match against AEK Athens. The Athens players left the field to avoid the confrontation and the game was not finished. Savvidis was also escorted from the field, and a warrant has been issued for his arrest for invading the field.

Greece’s deputy sports minister, Giorgos Vasiliadis, announced that all Superleague games were temporarily off until “there is a clear framework, agreed by all, to move forward with conditions and rules.”

The game was played in the city of Thessaloniki, Greece, where PAOK FC is based.

Savvidis is a Greek-Russian businessman who served in the State Duma, a Russian parliamentary house, from 2003 to 2011. He has been said to be close with Vladimir Putin.