10 Most Fearsome Rivalries In World Football

8. Panathinaikos - Olympiakos / "Mother Of All Battles"

Football hooliganism is a very common phenomenon between Greek football€™s two largest fan bases, ranging from fireworks misusage, in-stadium-brawling and organised street riots.

The ferocious rivalry between the two clubs, barring the issue of proximity, is said to have been initiated by a social inequality barrier whereby the upper class Panithanaikos would go into battle against the so-called lower class peasants of the Pireaeus-based Olympiakos.

The ominous hatred between the two is reflected by a 2007 incident whereby Mihalis Filopolous, a 22-year old Panathinaikos fan, was stabbed to death in Paiania - a town close to Athens - during a pre-arranged clash between the hooligan sectors of the two clubs.

The incident caused furore in Greece and sparked a large police investigation into the organised supporters scene, while all team sport events in Greece were suspended for a two week period.