Last night, Olympiacos knocked Aston Villa out of the Europa Conference League with an emphatic 2-0 win over the English side. The win meant Olympiacos won the tie 6-2 after a shock 4-2 win at Villa Park a week ago and they can now look forward to the final in Athens at the end of May.
The atmosphere inside Olympiacos' Karaiskakis Stadium was electric all evening and there were fears about conflict between the home and away ends when earlier in the day, Aston Villa fans were seen taunting the home fans with Panathinaikos scarves and Olympiacos fans were seen waving Birmingham flags.
However, these fears were squashed at the end of the match when Olympiacos fans showed their appreciation and respect for the travelling Villains as they applauded their team off the pitch despite the loss.
In a video shared on social media, large sections of the Olympiacos support can be seen applauding the Aston Villa section in unison as the British fans belted out a rendition of ‘Villa til I die' despite the loss. Fan culture is a big deal in Greece so they must have been really impressed with Villa's support to give them their seal of approval.
Olympiacos fans showing their respect to Aston Villa fans applauding the side at the end of the game last night.
Classy! 👏🤝 #AVFC pic.twitter.com/Gp5keWOdf5
— Football Away Days (@FBAwayDays) May 10, 2024
The best English fans to come to Greece?
According to one social media account, the Olympiacos Ultras said after the game that Aston Villa were the best set of English fans they had seen visit the stadium. This is high praise when you consider the number of clubs that have played against Olympiacos over the years.
Over the past five years, Olympiacos have faced six different English clubs (Aston Villa, Arsenal, Man City, Tottenham, Wolves and Burnley) and only Aston Villa received this ovation from the home support which suggests that perhaps they are the best lot of English fans to visit the stadium in recent times.
However, Villa are also the only English team to lose at the stadium in the past five years which could have perhaps contributed to the ovation.
Aston Villa fans reflect on special moment with Olympiacos fans
Aston Villa fans who were in the away end on Thursday night have taken to social media site, X, to reflect on the moment and their trip to Athens on the whole. One posted:
“What an unbelievable experience that was in Athens, it was amazing being part of this European adventure and a shame it came to an end, Athens is a beautiful country, Fair play to the Olympiacos fans at the end for applauding us and vice versa.”
Another added: “A wonderful European tour, with great company, brilliant memories and a few beers. We go again. And at the end of it all, we applauded the Olympiacos lap of honour and their fans applauded us. Form is temporary, class is permanent.