Around 100 fans gathered at the hotel where the team was preparing to leave for the Olympic Stadium and demanded that the players travel by taxi instead of the team coach.
The move was a response to the AEK players' decision to leave the stadium by taxi for fear of being attacked following the humiliating 6-0 drubbing by champions Olympiakos two weeks ago.
"Everybody is free to have their opinion," AEK's Spanish coach Manuel Jimenez told a news conference. "I will continue to work as I do every day. A lot has been said but I'm here. The easy thing would be to leave.
"When someone in the family is dying, you do not just let them die if they can be helped. Everyone who is here is trying to keep things going. This club has a long history and we will not leave it to die."
