New PAOK Salonika player Dimitar Berbatov poses for photographers during his presentation at the Toumba stadium in Thessaloniki, Greece, yesterday. (Reuters)

Agencies/Athens

Bulgarian forward Dimitar Berbatov was treated to a hero’s welcome yesterday as 10,000 jubilant PAOK Salonika fans turned up to greet the club’s new signing at their Toumba Stadium.
The 34-year-old was unveiled to the media after joining the Super League club having been released by Ligue 1 side Monaco in the close season. He is the highest-profile signing in the club’s history after agreeing a two-year deal.
“Thank you so much for the reception, it’s unbelievable; I didn’t expect something like this, I’m just a simple person who plays football,” said Berbatov, who came onto the pitch wearing a PAOK shirt with the number 10 on it.
He added: “My father was born just 15 kilometers from the border (with Greece) so in some way we are like brothers, and as you always have to fight for your brother, I will fight for you. I want to thank (club president Ivan) Savvidis and colleagues for their perseverance in bringing me here and to see how special this place is.”
Berbatov will be the top earner in Greek football having signed a 1.6-million-euro ($1.77 million) a year contract plus bonuses with the Salonika outfit, according to media reports.
The former Bulgaria striker, who is his country’s all-time leading goalscorer, joined Monaco in 2014 from Fulham and helped the French side reach the Champions League quarter-finals in April. The former Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur forward scored nine times in 37 appearances last season as Monaco finished third in the French league. PAOK finished third in the Super League last season after fading in the second half of the campaign following a strong start, which had them dreaming of a first league title since 1985.  

Zenit coach Villas-Boas
handed six-match touchline ban
Zenit St Petersburg coach Andre Villas-Boas has been hit with a six-match touchline ban from Russian Premier League games after arguing with a fourth official, the club said.
He was punished by the Russian Football Union’s (RFU) disciplinary committee, following an incident in Zenit’s Premier League defeat to Krylya Sovietov at the Petrovsky Stadium on Saturday.
With the hosts trailing 1-0 after 34 minutes, the former Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur manager became engaged in a heated debate with the fourth official and was subsequently sent to the stands.
The Russian Premier League champions went on to lose 3-1 and are third in the table after seven rounds of matches, six points behind leaders CSKA Moscow.

German fan jailed for
18 months for lighting flare
Germany is continuing its zero tolerance approach to football supporters lighting flares in Bundesliga grounds after a Schalke supporter was jailed for 18 months yesterday with no parole.
Both the German Football League (DFL) and the German Football Association (DFB) are eager to stamp out the regular occurence of fans lighting flares in stadiums and the lack of parole sends a clear message to other supporters.
The 25-year-old was part of a gang who lit 19 flares in Schalke’s home game against Eintracht Frankfurt in November 2012 at Gelsenkirchen’s Veltins Arena.
Because of the smoke from the flares, of the
type  which are often used by ships in distress, eight spectators in the nearby area had to be treated for smoke inhalation, including a 12-year-old child.
The 25-year-old, who belongs to the group of Schalke ultra fans known as ‘Hugos’, had originally been given a suspended sentence by a local court in Gelsenkirchen.
 But state prosecutors appealed to the regional court in Essen, because the individual concerned was a repeat offender, and the sentence was
confirmed yesterday by Hamm’s Higher Regional Court.