AEK Athens strike for pay

AEK Athens players refused to train in order to force officials of the Greek club to pay their wages.

"We took this action as a response and to put pressure on the management because we cannot continue without being paid," said team captain Michalis Kasapis.

The players complained that on Thursday they received very little of what they were owed and refused to take part in practice.

Later, AEK president Dimitris Melissanidis said that the players would be paid a significant amount of owed wages on Friday.

AEK finished third in the league last season and will face Grasshopper of Switzerland in the third qualifying round of the Champions League next month.

Meanwhile, AEK announced Thursday that they have signed Greek international midfielder Nikos Limberopoulos on a two-year deal from rivals Panathinaikos.

No fee was revealed by the club but local press reports suggested that the 28-year-old would be receiving 500,000 euros a year.

Limberopoulos was the leading scorer in the Greek league last season with 16 goals and had played for Panathinaikos for the last six seasons.