Gate 4 () is the most popular organized supporters group of the Greek multi-sports club

PAOK PAOK (, Πανθεσσαλονίκειος Αθλητικός Όμιλος Κωνσταντινοπολιτών, ''Panthessalonikeios Athlitikós Ómilos Constantinopoliton'', ''Pan-Thessalonian Athletic Club of Constantinopolitans''), commonly ...

. The group has played an important role in the club's course over the years affecting the club's decisions. They mostly wear black and white symbols and clothes, which are the colors of the club. GATE 4 is considered one of the most militant fan organisations in all of Europe.

History

Background

PAOK always had great support from fans all over Greece. Before the foundation of Gate 4 there were various football supporters' clubs all around Greece. PAOK's first fan association was the club from Neapoli district of

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...

, founded in 1963 and considered one of the oldest in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. Gate 4 officially founded on 25 September 1976, but operated unofficially from April of the same year, taking its name from the homonymous 4th gate of the

Toumba Stadium Toumba Stadium () is a multi–purpose stadium in Thessaloniki, Greece, mainly used for association football, football. It is property of P.A.O.K., AC PAOK and hosts PAOK FC since its completion in 1959. The official name of the stadium is simply ...

, from where PAOK's hard-core fans watched the games. The organized supporters' movement of PAOK counts over 120 groups in various parts of the world, in

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

and

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. The headquarters of the organization is the so-called "Low-ceilinged", located on 39, Palaion Patron Germanos street in

, home stadium of PAOK Football Club, is infamous for its hostile atmosphere, a factor that led to the attribution of the Stadium as "The Black Hell". On high-profile encounters, when the players walk out of the tunnel, the song Hells Bells by

AC/DC AC/DC are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock and Heavy metal music, heavy metal, although the band calls it simply "rock and roll". They are cited as a formativ ...

is heard from the stadium's speakers. Also, one of the biggest banners in the world was created by

Michaniona Michaniona () was a former municipality in the Thessaloniki regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, the town/suburb is part of the municipality of Thermaikos, of which it is a municipal unit. Population 10,784 (2021). Th ...

fan club. Over the years, Gate 4 has openly expressed opposition to some of the club's managements. The most famous dispute was with former owner of the club, Thomas Voulinos. This dispute intensified on 1 October 1992, when PAOK faced

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain () or simply PSG, is a French professional Association football, football club based in Paris. They compete in Ligue 1, the French football league system, top d ...

for the

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

. The match was abandoned due to crowd violence and PAOK were punished with a two-year ban from all European competitions by the UEFA disciplinary committee. The sentence was later reduced to one year. Voulinos blamed the leader of Gate 4, Antonis Kladas, of being the instigate of the riots, whom he sued him. Finally, after several years, Kladas was acquitted in Greek courts. No 12 jersey is dedicated to the fans, the symbolic 12th man on the pitch. It was permanently retired by the club on 16 August 2000. On 24 February 2022, during the match against

Midtjylland The Central Denmark Region (), or more directly translated as the Central Jutland Region and sometimes simply Mid-Jutland, is an administrative region of Denmark established on 1 January 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish municipal reform. The refo ...

for the

UEFA Europa Conference League The UEFA Conference League (UECL), usually known simply as the Conference League, is an annual association football, football competition organised since 2021 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European foot ...

, a banner raised for 30 minutes, expressing solidarity with the accused murderers of the 19 years old supporter of rival team

Aris Aris or ARIS may refer to: People * Aris (surname) Given name * Aris Alexandrou, Greek writer * Aris Brimanis, ice hockey player * Aris Christofellis, Greek male soprano * Aris Gavelas, Greek sprinter * Aris Konstantinidis, Greek architect * ...

, Alkis Kampanos. This act was criticized by most of PAOK supporters, but also by the management of the club, which issued an official statement condemning the incident.

Vale of Tempe The Vale of Tempe or Tembi (; ; ) is a gorge in the Tempi municipality of northern Thessaly, Greece, located between Olympus to the north and Ossa to the south, and between the regions of Thessaly and Macedonia. The gorge was known to the Byz ...
tragedy 1999

On 3 October 1999, some 3,000 PAOK fans attended the Olympic Stadium of Athens for an away match against

Panathinaikos Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos (, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greek multi-sport club based in the City of Athens. Panathinaikos is one of the mos ...

for the Greek League. On its way back to

, the double-decker bus of the fan club of Kordelio district collided with a truck and fell into a ditch in the

Vale of Tempe The Vale of Tempe or Tembi (; ; ) is a gorge in the Tempi municipality of northern Thessaly, Greece, located between Olympus to the north and Ossa to the south, and between the regions of Thessaly and Macedonia. The gorge was known to the Byz ...

Thessaly Thessaly ( ; ; ancient Aeolic Greek#Thessalian, Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic regions of Greece, geographic and modern administrative regions of Greece, administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient Thessaly, a ...

. The aftermath of the bus crash was devastating. Six PAOK fans lost their lives (Kyriakos Lazaridis, Christina Tziova, Anastasios Themelis, Charalampos Zapounidis, Georgios Ganatsios, Dimitris Andreadakis) and many others were injured. A

roadside memorial A roadside memorial, also referred to as a , is a marker that usually commemorates a site where a person died suddenly and unexpectedly, away from home. Unlike a grave site headstone, which marks where a body is laid, the memorial marks the last ...

, which is engraved with the names of the 6 people who died in the accident, was erected at the site of the crash bearing the following inscription: "''Their love for PAOK brought them here, left them here and went beyond''".

Friendships

PAOK supporters' groups consider

Grobari Grobari ( sr-cyr, Гробари, ) are the organized supporters group of the Serbian football club Partizan. They are one of two major football fan groups in Serbia. They generally support all clubs within the Partizan multi-sports club, and m ...

, the organized supporters group of the

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

n football club

Partizan Belgrade Jugoslovensko sportsko društvo Partizan ( sr-Cyrl, Југословенско спортско друштво Партизан, lit=Yugoslav Sports Society Partizan), commonly abbreviated as JSD Partizan ( sr-Cyrl, ЈСД Партизан, lin ...

a friendly group. On many occasions, fans from both clubs traveled to watch each other's games. They also maintain good relations with the fans of Russian

CSKA Moscow CSKA Moscow () is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet Union, Soviet era, it was the central part of the Armed Forces (sports ...

, CSKA Sofia, Steaua Bucharest and Widzew Lodz. PAOK fans also have good relations with the fans of

OFI Crete OFI Football Club (, ''Heraklion Sportsmen Club 1925 FC''), commonly referred to as OFI, is a Greek professional Association football, football club based in Heraklion, on the island of Crete. It is part of the O.F.I. (sports club), OFI mul ...

, a friendship that started in 1986 when OFI's fans founded the organized fanbase under the same rituals as with PAOK's (same naming, and mostly because both clubs have many similarities). In October 1987, when OFI faced

Atalanta Atalanta (; ) is a heroine in Greek mythology. There are two versions of the huntress Atalanta: one from Arcadia (region), Arcadia, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene (mythology), Clymene and who is primarily known from the tales of the Caly ...

for the

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European association football, football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renam ...

, fans from both Gate 4 counterparts supported the Cretans. A mutual respect also exists between PAOK and

Panionios Panionios G.S.S. Football Club (Greek: ΠΑΕ Πανιώνιος Γ.Σ.Σ.), the ''Pan-Ionian Gymnastics Club of Smyrna'' (Πανιώνιος Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Σμύρνης, ''Panionios Gymnastikos Syllogos Smyrnis''), ...

fans.

Rivalries

The rivalry between Olympiacos and PAOK, is long-standing, emerging in the 1960s, when Olympiacos unsuccessfully tried to acquire

Giorgos Koudas Giorgos Koudas (; born 23 November 1946) is a Greek former international footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Regarded as one of the greatest Greek players of all-time, he spent his entire career at PAOK. Being the most capped play ...

from PAOK, approaching him directly without going into a negotiation with his club. A long-time rivalry also exists between PAOK and local rivals Aris.

and

AEK A.E.K. (; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople'') is a major Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadelfeia, Attica. The club is more commonly known in European competitions as A.E.K. Athens. Established ...

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

' two big clubs, are also considered major rivals.

References

{{reflist P.A.O.K. Greek association football supporters' associations Ultras groups 1976 establishments in Greece

History

Background

Vale of Tempe The Vale of Tempe or Tembi (; ; ) is a gorge in the Tempi municipality of northern Thessaly, Greece, located between Olympus to the north and Ossa to the south, and between the regions of Thessaly and Macedonia. The gorge was known to the Byz ... tragedy 1999

Friendships

Rivalries

References

Vale of Tempe The Vale of Tempe or Tembi (; ; ) is a gorge in the Tempi municipality of northern Thessaly, Greece, located between Olympus to the north and Ossa to the south, and between the regions of Thessaly and Macedonia. The gorge was known to the Byz ...
tragedy 1999