sentence was later reduced to one year. In 1994–95 season, under Dutch manager Arie Haan, PAOK finished 3rd in the league and Apollon Athens took their place in the next season's UEFA Cup. 1995–96 season was the worst in club's history. PAOK were seriously threatened with a possible relegation for first time in history. The team managed to avoid relegation few weeks before the end of the league and finished in 14th place. Batatoudis era (1996–2003) In 1996, Thomas Voulinos handed over a debt-free PAOK to Giorgos Batatoudis. Numerous transfers of quality players such as Zisis Vryzas, Spyros Marangos, free kick specialist Kostas Frantzeskos, Percy Olivares and Joe Nagbe took place under the new administration. In May 1997, after a five-year absence from European competitions, PAOK qualified for the UEFA Cup under coach Angelos Anastasiadis. The club's reappearance at European level was marked by a victory and qualification over Arsenal with 2–1 on aggregate. Arsenal went on to win a domestic Double that season. Remembering the 1st leg encounter, captain Tony Adams and goalkeeper David Seaman spoke very highly of the atmosphere created by PAOK fans at Toumba Stadium. In the night of 9 February 1998, PAOK player Panagiotis Katsouris, aged 21, was returning from an amateur 5x5 match, when his car skidded off the road due to excessive speed, hitting the barriers at the Thermi interchange outside Thessaloniki. His death was verified in AHEPA Hospital shortly afterwards. He was buried on 12 February in the Anastaseos Cemetery in Thessaloniki. A bust was erected in his memory at Toumba Stadium and memorial services are held each year near the accident scene. In February 2009, PAOK announced that a football tournament, bearing his name, would be held annually. Katsouris' No 17 jersey was permanently retired by the club in his memory. Early in the morning of 4 October 1999, a bus accident took place in the Vale of Tempe, Thessaly, with six PAOK fans killed (Kyriakos Lazaridis, Christina Tziova, Anastasios Themelis, Charalampos Zapounidis, Georgios Ganatsios, Dimitris Andreadakis). The bus was heading back to Thessaloniki after a 1–1 draw against Panathinaikos at the Olympic Stadium of Athens. A ceremony in commemoration of the incident has taken place every year since. In January 2000, PAOK appointed Dušan Bajević as their new manager. PAOK won the 2001 Greek Cup beating Olympiacos 4–2 in the final held at Nikos Goumas Stadium on 12 May 2001.