20-year-old Giorgos Katidis was an extremely promising player for the Greek national side, after impressing at all youth levels, but now he’s banned from all national team matches for life. He can still play in club games.
His ban comes after he scored the winner for AEK Athens and celebrated with what looks like a Nazi salute. Katidis, however, claims he didn’t know what the gesture meant and was just doing it to point to an injured teammate in the stands.
Katidis tweeted: “I hate fascism. I wouldn’t have done it if I knew it meant something. I know the consequences and would not do it.”
Have a look at the celebration:
[youtube width=”500″ height=”300″]2S276WZtl50[/youtube]
He pleads innocence, but does the player deserve a life time ban? Katidis should have been given the benefit of the doubt. There is no point in jeopardizing a player’s career over something people “thought” he meant and even if he had celebrated with his knowledge, it certainly doesn’t deserve a life time ban.