Como gives older fans prime seats for Champions League debut and team delivers a 4-1 win

COMO, Italy (AP) — Como marked its Champions League debut with a gesture of respect by inviting its older fans to watch a dream night end with a 4-1 win over Leipzig on Thursday.

President Mirwan Suwarso and some directors made the magnanimous decision of giving away their own seats, allowing supporters born in 1950 or earlier to attend the sold-out game.

They looked on with pride as midfielder Martin Baturina scored Como's first-ever Champions League goal in the 15th minute. Como's other goals came from Anastasios Douvikas, Assane Diao and Máximo Perrone as fans celebrated in a jubilant atmosphere.

“It was a wonderful performance tonight," Como coach Cesc Fabregas said. "It was our first game in the Champions League, so it’s a historic night for us.”

Capacity was reduced to around 10,000 because the delightful Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia stadium on the shores of Lake Como underwent modifications for the Champions League.

The 119-year-old club reached the competition under Fabregas, a standout goal-scoring midfielder during a stellar club career with Arsenal, Chelsea and Barcelona. He played for the Spain team that won the 2010 World Cup.

Fabregas guided Como to fourth place last season ahead of Juventus and AC Milan to claim Serie A’s final Champions League spot with a high-pressing brand of soccer.

“This is a reward for the great work the team did last year, and we’re very happy to be part of it," Fabregas said. "But we cannot forget who we are. We need to remain humble and keep our feet on the ground.”

Goals have been coming from 22-year-old playmaker Nico Paz, who has stayed on loan from Real Madrid and the burly Greece center forward Douvikas, who was involved in the opening goal for Baturina.

He released Douvikas down the right and then latched onto his deflected cross toward the penalty spot, recovering from a slip before pushing the ball past two defenders and guiding it into the bottom left corner.

Baturina returned the compliment as he put Douvikas clean through with a pass from the halfway line close to halftime, and Douvikas finished confidently after holding off a defender.

A fast break led to the third goal, in the 54th, as first-time passes from Douvikas and Paz sent Diao down the right, and he cut inside before shooting into the bottom left corner.

Midfielder Andrija Maksimović scored for Leipzig before the quick-thinking Paz set up Perrone with a fine pass for Como's fourth of an unforgettable night.

See AP’s full soccer coverage here

Como's supporters cheer during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Como and Leipzig in Como, Italy, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Como's Martin Baturina, left, scores his side's opening goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Como and Leipzig in Como, Italy, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

A view of the Giuseppe Sinigaglia stadium ahed of the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Como and Leipzig in Como, Italy, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Como older fan Luigi Chiesa, 92, poses in front of the stadium ahed of the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Como and Leipzig in Como, Italy, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026, Como officials giving up seats to older fans. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Como older fans pose in front of the stadium ahed of the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Como and Leipzig in Como, Italy, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026, Como officials giving up seats to older fans. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Como older fans sit on the tribune prior to the start of the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Como and Leipzig in Como, Italy, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026, Como officials giving up seats to older fans. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

CHICAGO (AP) — A thwarted mass shooting at a Hindu temple near Chicago is stoking new fears for the area's South Asian community, tainting a typically joyful season of faith and family gatherings.

Members of the targeted temple and others in the area said they are seeking comfort in preserving traditions, determined to celebrate the holidays without fear — and to press for ways to address hatred hurled at the community.

Earlier this month, as worshippers gathered in Hindu temples on Oct. 11 to kick off the festival of Navaratri, prosecutors said, Alexandros Paporakis showed up at the Sri Venkateswara Swami (Balaji) Temple in Aurora, Illinois, and sat in the parking lot but fled before getting off a shot because his rifle jammed.

Paporakis, 19, was arrested later that day near his home in Palatine, Illinois, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) away after a co-worker at a Taco Bell alerted authorities to his plan to “kill Indian people," prosecutors said.

Paporakis faces felony charges of making a terrorist threat and unlawfully possessing a firearm. He is due back in court on Friday morning.

“A lot of us are just really appalled and just kind of disgusted,” said Asha Rao, executive director of The Chicago Kasam, a nonprofit aimed at bringing together the area’s South Asian community. “This is supposed to be a very peaceful time for our community, for all of us to come together and get time with our loved ones, our family, our friends, and be able to celebrate in a safe way.”

Navaratri is a nine-night celebration of the Goddess Durga, which culminates in Dussehra or Vijayadashami; Diwali, the major Hindu holiday, comes about three weeks later. Avatans Kumar, a freelance columnist who occasionally attends the temple that was targeted, said people often break the nine-night fast with a huge celebration on the 10th day that features outdoor fairs and gatherings with friends and family.

This year, those events have been shaped by discussions about how to increase security.

“People are more vigilant now,” Kumar said. “People are looking for any signs of disturbance, keeping eyes and ears open.”

Rao said some people were “more hesitant” to leave home and celebrate. But the threat had also sparked a renewed resilience and resolve to honor the holiday without fear, she said.

She hoped South Asians could “recognize how far we’ve come, all the great things that are happening in our community, the friends and the people,” she said. “That’s what it means to curate resilience in community in times like this.”

South Asian local and congressional leaders are pushing for law enforcement to investigate whether the thwarted attack was a hate crime, and to pursue additional charges against Paporakis if it was. Prosecutors say Paporakis described himself as a white supremacist and neo-Nazi, and used slurs and hateful language to refer to Indians and other minority groups.

U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, a Democrat whose district includes the temple that was targeted, previously told The Associated Press that he is “calling on the FBI to investigate and prosecute this particular matter as a hate crime.”

The planned attack has stirred painful memories of hateful comments. Use of anti-South Asian slurs online rose by 109% from 2023 to 2025, and nearly half of all South Asian adults said they experienced a hate act due to their race, ethnicity, or nationality last year, according to Stop AAPI Hate, which collects reports of hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

Illinois’ South Asian population rose from more than 242,000 in 2010 to more than 337,000 in 2020, to comprise around 2.5% of the state’s total population, according to the South Asian American Policy and Research Institute. Some said bullying and race-based harassment were a regular part of life.

After Paporakis’ arrest, authorities said they recovered weapons, ammunition, a gas canister labeled with a slur referring to South Asians and several items depicting Nazi symbols from his home. Officials said Paporakis wrote a lengthy note in which he fantasized about mass murder and expressed his desire to kill as many non-white people as he could.

Rishab Chatty, who leads the Chicago chapter of Hindus for Human Rights, said hatred directed at Hindus and South Asians was once “thought to be something that namely existed in chat rooms and in school lunch cafeterias” but was recently “becoming more and more violent.”

“A lot of folks within my community are really questioning what it means to belong in a country that exercises hate and violence against them,” he added.

Mayes-Osterman is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

A statue and fountain are displayed outside of Sri Venkateswara Swami (Balaji) Temple in Aurora, Ill., Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Laura Bargfeld)

The top of Sri Venkateswara Swami (Balaji) Temple is seen in Aurora, Ill., Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Laura Bargfeld)

The front of Sri Venkateswara Swami (Balaji) Temple is seen in Aurora, Ill., Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Laura Bargfeld)