Georgios Katidis (; born 12 February 1993) is a Greek professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as an

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

. He is best known for performing a

Nazi salute The Nazi salute, also known as the Hitler salute, or the ''Sieg Heil'' salute, is a gesture that was used as a greeting in Nazi Germany. The salute is performed by extending the right arm from the shoulder into the air with a straightened han ...

after scoring a game-winning goal in 2013, which led to his permanent suspension from every level of the Greece national team and his suspension from

AEK Athens 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. Establishe ...

for the remainder of the 2013 season.

Club career

Aris

Katidis rose through the youth ranks at

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 * ...

and managed to make his debut for the team at 16 years old.

AEK Athens

On 27 August 2012, Katidis signed a four-year contract with

which would keep him at the club until 2016. AEK Athens and his former club Aris agreed on a €100,000 transfer fee. Katidis created an international controversy on 16 March 2013, when he gave a

after scoring the winning goal against

Veria Veria (; ), officially transliterated Veroia, historically also spelled Beroea or Berea, is a city in Central Macedonia, in the geographic region of Macedonia, northern Greece, capital of the regional unit of Imathia. It is located north-nor ...

. His action drew condemnation from politicians, fans and the media. He later told the public he was unaware of the gesture's connotations, stating that he just wanted to dedicate the goal to a colleague in the stands. AEK coach

Ewald Lienen Ewald Lienen (born 28 November 1953) is a German association football, football manager and former player. His last job was technical director of FC St. Pauli. Playing career Lienen began his professional career at Arminia Bielefeld of the 2. Fu ...

remarked that Katidis "doesn't have an idea about politics". As a result of the salute, the

Hellenic Football Federation The Hellenic Football Federation (HFF), (), is the governing body of football in Greece. It contributes in the organisation of Super League Greece 2. It is also responsible for the organization of the Greek Cup, Gamma Ethniki (3rd ranked men's f ...

voted unanimously to give Katidis a lifetime ban from all Greece national teams and he was fined €50,000. He was furthermore suspended by AEK for the rest of the season.

Novara Calcio

On 29 June 2013, Italian

Serie B The Serie B (), officially known as Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had b ...

side

Novara Novara (; Novarese Lombard, Novarese: ) is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont (Italy), Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With 101,916 inhabitants (on 1 January 2021), it is the second most populous ...

signed Katidis. Novara's owner Massimo de Salvo said that they would not be 'playing down' the incident. "We don't have the intention to play down his gesture," he said. "It was disrespectful to the millions of people that suffered and paid with their lives for those who believed in false ideals and myths." De Salvo also said Katidis' remorse was a key factor in beginning negotiations with the 20-year-old. "We want to give him another chance, because we believe that making such a mistake is serious, but acknowledging it is worthy." The Italian media have dubbed Katidis the 'Greek Di Canio', referring to the former Lazio striker

Paolo di Canio Paolo Di Canio (born 9 July 1968) is an Italian former professional footballer and manager. During his playing career he made over 500 league appearances and scored over one hundred goals as a Forward (association football), forward. He primari ...

, who caused controversy by giving a Nazi salute whilst celebrating a goal. Eventually Katidis signed a 1+1 year contract with the club. On 31 July 2014, Novara announced the end of cooperation with the player.

Veria

After being away from Greece for a year, Katidis returned to his home country by signing a two-year contract with

. Giorgos made his official debut on 20 September 2014 in an away loss against

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós (, Olympic Association of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number of different competitive departments which participate in football, ...

in Pireaus. He made his second appearance against Ermionida in the

Greek Cup The Greek Football Cup (), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Betsson Greek Cup for sponsorship reasons is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second-most important domestic men's footba ...

. He made his third appearance as a substitute as he replaced Sotiris Balafas against

PAS Giannina PAS Giannina Football Club (), or with its full name Panipirotikós Athlitikós Síllogos Giánnina (, ''Panepirotic Athletic Club Giannina'') is a Greek professional Association football, football club based in the city of Ioannina, the capita ...

. On 26 January 2015, Katidis was released by the club as he didn't impress with his performances.

Levadiakos

On 29 January 2015, Katidis penned a -year deal with fellow

Superleague Greece The Super League Greece 1 (), or Stoiximan Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Greece and the highest level of the Greek football league system. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and repl ...

side

Levadiakos Levadiakos Football Club (officially romanized: ''Levadeiakos'' ) is a Greek professional football club that plays in the Super League Greece. Based in Livadeia, Greece, the club was promoted to the Alpha Ethniki, forerunner of the Super League, ...

. He made his last appearance with the club in a 1–0 away loss against

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

Panegialios

On 10 January 2016 Katidis signed a year contract with

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

club Panegialios.

FF Jaro

On 30 January 2017, Katidis signed a season contract with the Finnish club

FF Jaro Fotbollsföreningen Jaro (''Jakobstads Rostfria''), commonly known simply as Jaro, is a Finnish professional football club based in the bilingual town of Jakobstad. The club currently plays in Veikkausliiga, the top tier in Finland. History Ja ...

. On 4 February 2017, in his first match with the club, Katidis was involved in

goals by giving the two assists in a 2–1

Suomen Cup The Finnish Cup (; ) is Finland's main national cup competition in association football, football. This yearly competition is open for all member clubs of the FA of Finland and has been played since 1955. The winner qualifies for the UEFA Europ ...

win against SJK. Two weeks later, he scored a brace in an 8–1 away win against SJK Akatemia for the

. On 4 March 2017, he scored a brace in a 6–1 home win against

FC Jazz Football Club Jazz, commonly known as just Jazz, is a Finnish Association football, football club based in Pori, which plays in the Finnish third tier, Ykkönen. The club was founded in 1934 as Porin Pallo-Toverit. PPT changed its name to FC Jazz ...

for the

. On 6 May 2017, he made his debut in the

League League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football * ''League of Legends'', a 2009 multiplayer online battle a ...

with the club scoring in a 2–0 away win against EIF.

FK Olympia Prague

On 7 August 2017, Katidis left

, signing a two-year contract with FK Olympia Prague of the

Czech National Football League The Czech National Football League (, ''FNL''), known as Chance Národní Liga due to sponsorship reasons, is the second level professional association football league in the Czech Republic. Before 2013 it was known as 2. liga or Druhá liga. The ...

. On 12 August 2017, he made his debut with the club in a FNL 2–2 home draw against

FK Viktoria Žižkov FK Viktoria Žižkov is a Czech professional football club from the district of Žižkov in Prague. The club competes in the Czech National Football League, the second tier of football in the country. It won the Czechoslovak First League title ...

. On 27 August he netted the only goal in a 1–0 away win against

Vlašim Vlašim (; ) is a town in Benešov District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 11,000 inhabitants. Vlašim is known for the Vlašim Castle and its English landscape garden, English park. Administrative division Vla� ...

FK Příbram

On 11 July 2018, Katidis signed a two-year contract with 1. FK Příbram of the

Czech First League The Czech First League () also known as the Chance Liga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in the Czech Republic and the highest level of the Czech Republic football league system. Seasons typically run from A ...

Irodotos

On 18 September 2021, George Katidis returned to professional football after almost three years, signing for Super League 2 club Irodotos.

International career

Katidis quickly became under 17, under 19 and then under 21 captain of Greece due to excellent performances while he was still playing for Aris FC. He was the captain of the under-19 team that lost in the final to Spain in the 2012

European Championship A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

. Scoring in a game on 16 March 2013, Katidis controversially celebrated the goal by giving the crowd a

. Katidis later apologized. The

imposed a lifetime ban on Katidis, banning him from participating in all Greek national teams.Robert Mackey
Greek Soccer Player Banned for Nazi Salute
''New York Times'' (18 March 2013).

Honours

International

Greece U19 *

UEFA European Under-19 Championship The UEFA European Under-19 Championship, or simply the Euro Under-19, is an annual football competition, contested by the European men's under-19 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Spain is the most successful team in this competit ...

runner-up:

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

Individual

Team of the Tournament:

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Katidis, Georgios 1993 births Living people Footballers from Thessaloniki Men's association football midfielders Greek men's footballers Greece men's youth international footballers Greece men's under-21 international footballers Aris Thessaloniki F.C. players AEK Athens F.C. players Novara FC players Veria F.C. players Levadiakos F.C. players Panegialios F.C. players FF Jaro players Super League Greece players Serie B players Greek expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in Finland Expatriate men's footballers in the Czech Republic Greek expatriate sportspeople in Italy Greek expatriate sportspeople in Finland Greek expatriate sportspeople in the Czech Republic Sports controversies 21st-century Greek sportsmen