All league football in Greece has been suspended following the brutal attack on Hugh Dallas's assistant. Dallas was brought in to oversee the problems of refereeing corruption and match fixing that blighted the leagues in Greece. His assistant Christoforos Zografos was set upon by two men with wooden clubs and hospitalised. Lots of finger pointing with the Olympiakos president Evangelos Marinakis claiming to have vital evidence about who carried out the attack. The authorities seem very reluctant to get involved for some reason.
We think we have problems with our referees ?
Results 1 to 26 of 26
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18-11-2014 08:39 AM #1
All Greek football leagues suspended
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18-11-2014 10:03 AM #5This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
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18-11-2014 10:40 PM #6
cant find anything funny about this thread.a man doing his job, seriously assaulted, blows to the head wi clubs o' wid, 2 v 1, and he is in hospital. maybe just my thinking, after a serious operation to the head, but, hey ho.
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18-11-2014 10:57 PM #7This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
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19-11-2014 07:59 AM #8
Hugh Dallas has stepped down from his position now, and wont be responsible for referee selection for super league and league matches in Greece from now on. He will remain with EPO (Greek F.A.) to train their refs, but I think this shows how serious things are over there. Would you be happy going to work knowing you or your colleagues can be seriously assaulted with little, as yet, in the way of repercussions?
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19-11-2014 08:20 AM #9
It now turns out that Dimitris Melissanidis, new owner of the recently bankrupt AEK Athens ( who's tax debts were about $200 million) had something to say about what happened. He's a bit of a character as the saying goes, and this is taken from his Wikipedia page:
Furthermore in a highly publicized incident, discussed in the Greek Parliament, calling from an ‘Aegean Oil’ listed telephone number, Melissanidis personally bullied with death threats to Lefteris Charalambopoulos,[32] the Greek reporter who published the government report in the left-wing ‘Unfollow’ magazine.[33][34] The caller self-identified as Dimitris Melissanidis threatened the reporters life repeatedly. Part of what was said by the man self-identified as Dimitris Melissanidis, which was taken down by the reporter, follows: “I could have you killed without having warned you. But I am a man and I’m gonna have you blown up in your sleep. I’ll have you killed, you, your wife, your children, everything you’ve got”. When the reporter told the caller that he would alert the authorities, he replied: “Screw you and the authorities. I don’t understand anything, I am Melissanidis. You will not be able to sleep. You will not be able to go out, I’ll be your nightmare. Fear of me will haunt you. They will come to your house and blow you up in your sleep. I am used to talking to big journalists. I looked you up and I will tear you down”.
After he took over AEK they got sponsored from the lottery people to the tune of a few millions where Melissanidis just happens to be a part owner as well, which caused other teams to drop their sponsorship from them, including Olympiakos and Apollon Smyrna. I have no idea how this will end up, but if there is no serious intervention from somewhere, then Greek football will be forever seen as corrupt.
They had 3,500 fans at their friendly last night and got beat 2 - 0 by Serbia.
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19-11-2014 11:29 AM #10
it's sad Greek Football has gone this way, Every Greek person I have met has been really friendly and passionate about their football. I know there are some on here that had a bad time in Athens but that's not the experience i've had of the Greek people.
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19-11-2014 12:44 PM #11
I remember being in Corfu years ago when Olympiakos were playing Panathanikos. After the game which Olympiakos won 2 cars drove through the centre of the place we were staying with huge Olympiakos flags being held by a guy standing on the car roof, whilst the driver continuously beeped the horn.
United we stand here....
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19-11-2014 12:52 PM #12
As fans, they do tend to be very passionate about their teams and on lots of the islands you'll find plenty of fans of the big teams. This is not always glory hunting as many families moved to cash in on tourism opportunities. Their fanaticism sometimes gets way out of hand as one fan was killed during a third division match in Crete earlier this year, causing the leagues to be suspended for the first time this season. This time round though, it's hard to see what will happen as different owners from the big clubs are slagging each other off, with certain clubs upset because the official they "demanded" to referee their game wasn't granted. One unholy mess - that's for sure.
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19-11-2014 04:09 PM #13This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
United we stand here....
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19-11-2014 09:57 PM #15This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
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19-11-2014 10:27 PM #16This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
He was once introduced on the radio, as Hugh Bonkle from Dallas.
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20-11-2014 08:54 AM #17
Olympiakos chairman has given depositions to the country's sports prosecutor alleging that the AEK chairman had attempted to influence the official before he was attacked (he is still in hospital), and the AEK chairman will give a statement today about corruption in Greek football.
I'll post what happens in the vague notion that some people might find it more interesting than split hairs or a hatred of Tommy Steele.
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20-11-2014 10:03 AM #18This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
Thanks for posting the details, despite all the nonsense.
Some of us are actually interested
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20-11-2014 11:12 AM #19This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
Loves a bit of football, they do!
J
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20-11-2014 03:55 PM #20
ΑΕΚ owner Dimitris Melissanidis released this statement today: (apologies for google translate)
"With huge interest in the last few hours watching the moving effort Mr. Marinakis to put an end to the dirt of the Greek football !!!!
Those who have asked for a long time to answer to the courts and prosecutors in the investigation of the existence of a criminal organization in football, they are accused of extortion, bribery, beatings and explosions that have circumvented any value healthy competition devaluing football in our country, have the audacity to talk about ethics, values and progress.
At the same time the fan people in Greece know that we have honest football. We dishonest system. Criminal organization. Championship monkey. Vangelis Marinakis boldly makes us moral lessons and builds his defense.
The science fiction scenarios discovered today on the occasion of the sad and deplorable fact of the beating of Christopher Painter, showing man in panic. I understand the agony in view of the expected "outcome" of the Sports Attorney. I also understand the need to shift public attention to others. With the only difference that the culprit can not create culprits.
Probably looking for willing idiots in the double prosecution to prosecute criminal organization in football.
To trial the criminal organization,
to release the football,
ceases to be a manor. Let's finally digest that football belongs to everyone.
Once again condemn the attack on Mr. Painter.
The answer to the slanderer will give the Competent Greek Courts.
Dimitris Melissanidis "
Some of this is lost in translation but all that's being said is that he suspects the Olympiakos chairman of involvement at some level in the attack on Mr Ζωγράφου (his name translates as painter), but as the head of the Greek F.A. has also resigned today it does look as if the brown stuff may well hit the fan. Over to the Greek judicial system then..........
A Greek friend told me that it is not a case of corruption in the system, rather that in Greece the system is corruption.
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21-11-2014 11:05 AM #21
All Greek league games suspended again this weekend as things go from bad to worse. The referees association wont send anyone out to the games until the Greek F.A. are seen to be doing something, and the T.V. sponsors are now talking about pulling the plug if no games are there to be televised, which they say is a breach of contract.
Zografos,the guy who was attacked, said he was told in a phone conversation “I will throw you to the sea, I know where you live.” This conversation was allegedly with AEK chairman Melissanidis, or someone pretending to be him.
The T.V. money is what keeps the super league afloat and there is now talk that it may have to be dissolved, with rival companies Nova and OTE having a bidding war on the rights. Still no word from UEFA as yet, you might think they would be taking note of what's going on.
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21-11-2014 01:08 PM #22
Giorgos Sarris, the president of EPO (Greek F.A.) is now blaming the attack on the referee with the media/press. His organisation has been repeatedly inspected for corruption/blackmail/match fixing which resulted in the investigation of over 80 people over 3 - 4 years. UEFA were competely aware of this but have kept their heads firmly in the sand. Strangely enough, the lead prosecutor in the match fixing allegations was mysteriously removed from his post. Panathinaikos seem to be the only team at present speaking out against the corruption itself, but whether this comes to anything is any ones guess.
As Olympiakos are one of the main teams linked closely to Sarris and alleged match fixing allegations (at least 40 games were known to be fixed), it defies belief that UEFA continually do nothing about teams in their wonderful competitions who might not have qualified on a level playing field.
Having said all this, in Greek law it can take up to four years for disputes to come before the judiciary, so please don't hold your breath.
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21-11-2014 01:25 PM #23
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Are these dodgy goings on having a large effect on the international team or is that all down to the manager?
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21-11-2014 01:35 PM #24
Ranieri said he was entirely to blame for the recent performances, and there has been a noticeable drop in performances since he took over, coupled with some selection issues. I'm sure this is nothing new to players who grew up in the system.
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25-11-2014 09:54 AM #25
Greek football leagues to re start this weekend amid more dubious happenings:
Asteras Tripolis president Giorgos Borovilos, another former referee, has been elected as the new Super League president after the resignation of Dimitris Agrafiotis.
Panathinaikos voted against his appointment, reminding that Borovilos has been implicated in the case of the criminal organization in Greek soccer that has not yet reached the public.
In the early hours of Monday the family enterprise of referee Ilias Spathas in Piraeus was broken into, with burglars causing damage and stealing 2,500 euros, albeit without robbing any valuable items such as computers that were on site.
Spathas had recently refereed the game between Asteras Tripolis and Olympiakos in which Asteras protested of referee bias in favor of Olympiakos.
Whilst I'm sure the allegations will continue, at least they've got some games to watch now.
(info from Ekathimerini)
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04-12-2014 01:46 PM #26
Update:
Reported in today's Greek Ekathimerini newspaper:
An Athens prosecutor on Thursday brought charges against 16 Greek soccer officials and referees as part of ongoing investigation into match-fixing.
The accused include members of the Greek Soccer Federation (EPO ελληνική ποδοσφαίρου ομοσπονδία)
They face charges including conspiring to form a criminal gang.
Don't know where this will lead as charges like these can take up to four years to get through the Greek legal system, but it might be a start. I wonder when, and if they'll get round to naming the 16 involved.
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