THESSALONIKI – A 20-year-old man who fled to his native Albania after the murder of a Greek student in Thessaloniki by a gang of attackers, in what was said to be over soccer rivalries, appeared before a magistrate and was given time to prepare his defense.

That came after he turned himself in to Albanian authorities who swiftly turned him over to Greek officials at the border before he was taken to the court in Greece’s second-largest city, where the attack occurred.

His lawer told Kathimerini about the surrender after earlier claiming that his client didn’t take part in the attack that killed 19-year-0ld Alkis Kambanos by a gang of PAOK fans who hate their rivals, Aris, the two sides in violent confrontations.

The victim was hit on the head with a crowbar while pleading with his attackers to stop and stabbed in the leg with a curved karambit knife and bleeding so profusely that he died.

Reports said that the attackers demanded to know which team he supported and when it wasn’t theirs that they started the assault that turned deadly with 10 arrested so far, with more possible.