BASKETBALL - Olympiakos wins over Panathinaikos 93-74 - Crowned Champions

Olympiakos was crowned as new A1 basketball champion after beating Panathinaikos 93-74 in game three of the play offs. The game was the 11th championship for the Piraeus red team and their first “sweep” in the finals. As with previous games in the play off series, Panathinaikos  was not able to match up to its arch-rival Olympiakos -who was obviously better prepared for the challenge-. Nonetheless, Panathinaikos managed to put up a pretty good fight thanks to Lucas Mavrokefalidis and Vladimir Giakovits.

Olympiakos dominated the game, with five of its players scoring more than ten points, while team captain Vasilis Spanoulis was voted as the MVP of the match.

A victory party was held after the game at Aspro Pato in Glyfada with entertainment by George Tsalikis, with the Olympiakos anthem blaring throughout the club.

In the heart of Piraeus, fans and supporters of the red team flooded the streets to celebrate their team's victory until the early hours of the morning.

Olympiakos one step closer to securing championship

Euroleague finalists Olympiakos is only one step away from securing the 2015 championship, after defeating its number one rival and current cup-holders Panathinaikos 76-69 at the OAKA stadium in Athens. With a 2-0 lead in the finals and with Sunday’s game scheduled in Piraeus, Olympiakos is hoping to beat Panathinaikos for the first time in its history. The star players of course were George Printezis, Bryant Dunston and Vasilis Spanoulis, while Panathinaikos' Lucas Mavrokefalidis fought hard and managed to keep his team in the game.

UEFA puts end to possible soccer “Grexit” scenario

The European soccer administration UEFA apparently placed an end to scenarios of expelling the Greek soccer federation from its competitions (a so-called “soccer Grexit”), over a controversial sports bill, which aims at confronting violence in sports.

In a letter to Greece's Deputy Minister of Sports, Stavros Kontonis, General Secretary Giannis Infantino notes that “UEFA is ready to assist with respect to any further revision of the Greek sports legislation”. According to reports, Infantino offered support to the Greek Minister and suggested that representatives from FIFA and EPO participate in relevant meetings.

Commenting on the letter, Kontonis said it refutes recent talks of a Greek expulsion from international soccer and that he was pleased with this development. He also praised UEFA for offering assistance to Greek authorities on sports legislation.

Olympiakos gears up for final four with CSKA Moscow & Real Madrid

Olympiakos BC is gearing up for this year’s Euroleague Final Four which is scheduled to take place over the weekend. It should be reminded that the red team made it to the final four after defeating Barcelona 3-1 in the quarter final knockout round, while Greek cup-holders Panathinaikos was trounced by CSKA.

The Pireaus red team, who won the trophy three times in 1997, 2012 and 2013, is apparently getting set to face CSKA Moscow at 6pm on Friday, May 15th, for a ticket in the final on Sunday, May 17th. In the other semifinal, Real Madrid is scheduled to play against Fenerbahce Ulker.

Olympiakos President To Appear Before Corruption Magistrate in June

Olympiakos Pireaus club president Vangelis Marinakis is expected to appear before a Corruption Magistrate on a set of serious charges including match-fixing and running a criminal organisation in early June, a report from the state news agency said this week. Marinakis was given a deadline earlier this week in order to prepare his testimony, via the lawyer representing him.

The testimony concerning the case was handed over to the Corruption Magistrate by major Levadiakos club shareholder Yiannis Kobotis, who also faces a charge of bribery. He was then released on condition that he has no involvement in any sporting events or club activities.

The magistrate also gave early June deadlines to former Hellenic Soccer Federation legal consultant Theodoros Kouridis and HFF board member Aristidis Stathopoulos, in order to prepare their testimony.

In other related news, Deputy Minister of Sport Stavros Kontonis has arranged to meet with UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino, in order to discuss the possibility of a solution that will avoid the possibility of a “football Grexit”.

A separate report from To Vima claims that over the past few days Kontonis has implemented changes to a sports bill that is being debated in Parliament and which is then set to be put to a vote. The main problem that the Greek Minister is faced with concerns a provision to abolish the autonomy of the Hellenic Soccer Federation (EPO), which conflicts with FIFA and UEFA’s rules.

Failure to comply with those regulations could signal the immediate expulsion of Greek national teams and clubs from all international competitions, which in turn would have an unprecedented financial catastrophe on professional sport in Greece.

In order to placate FIFA and UEFA, Kontonis expanded the controversial clause, by including a clarification that EPO must operate within the framework of the law and Constitution, as well as the rules and regulations of FIFA and UEFA.

In Kontonis's view, the ball is now in UEFA and FIFA’s court, since the changes safeguard the requirement of EPO’s independent operation.

(Sources: ANA-MPA, To Vima)

FIFA & UEFA warn Gov't of a soccer Grexit

FIFA and UEFA sent an ultimatum to the Hellenic Football Federation (EPO) on Wednesday, regarding a new draft bill that aims to address violence in sports, Both organizations literally threatened to expel all Greek national teams and clubs from their international competitions if the bill follows through.

The letter, which was signed by FIFA and UEFA officials, and which addresses a number of provisions that are included in the legislative initiative, apparently conflict with the principle of autonomy required from FIFA member associations (or so the two organizations claim). As such immediate sanctions could possibly be adopted, that would obviously include the expulsion of all Greek teams.

Commenting on MEGA tv, Deputy Minister of Sports, Stavros Kontonis, said that he is not going to "change the philosophy of the sports bill” and that he does “not accept ultimatums”. At the same time he said that FIFA and UEFA’s supervision over Greek soccer “has failed”.

Later on, Kontonis later issued a written statement slamming the soccer governing bodies for ”intervening in the operation of the Greek government and Parliament” and accused them of provocatively “attempting to indefinitely maintain the state of decay and corruption” in Greek soccer.

At the same time the Greek minister also called on all international federations wishing to actively participate in the constructive process of improving the situation to submit their proposals in regards to fans, refereeing, management and betting, before a scheduled discussion which is set to be held on April 30th.

In other related news, Kontonis would meet with the chairman of Panathinaikos Yannis Alafouzos on Thursday and is expected to also meet with the president of AEK Vangelis Aslanidis on Friday, in order to inform them on the latest developments.

The draft bill is going to be submitted for discussion at the relevant Parliamentary Committee on April 27-30th, before going up for a final vote by the Assembly on May 4th and 5th.

The bill was drafted Kontonis, in response to violent clashes between soccer fan clubs at various games. In addition, it was a response to the death of a 47-year-old soccer from Piraeus who was killed in Crete last September after being assaulted by violent fans.

Olympiakos secures 42nd league title - Champions for the 17th time!

The Reds, or the Piraeus-based Olympiakos soccer team clinched its 42nd Greek league title on Sunday, or the 17th in the last 19 seasons, with not one, not two but three rounds to spare. The Reds secured the title even before beating Levadiakos 4-0, when their long-time rival Panathinaikos lost 2-1 to Panthrakikos. Had Panathinaikos won, then the Reds would have needed at least a draw to clinch the title.

After losing to Panthrakikos, the Green team slipped to third place behind PAOK, which apparently beat host Kerkyra 1-0 on Saturday.

It should be noted that PAOK is only 13 points behind Olympiakos and one ahead of Panathinaikos.

Kontonis proposal on violence & corruption rejected by UEFA & FIFA

The legislative bill proposed by Deputy Minister of Sport Stavros Kontonis, that aims to address corruption and violence in Greek sports, was apparently rejected by both FIFA and UEFA. In a joint response, FIFA and UEFA’s general secretaries Jerome Valke and Gianni Infantino said that changes are necessary so that they can ensure that the Greek national team and domestic clubs are not excluded from international competitions.

Both FIFA and UEFA (quite suspiciously) object to the State having the right to ban Greek teams from international competitions, forcing clubs to implement electronic tickets at the risk of exclusion from competitions, as well as the suspension of “suspect” games, the appointment of a prosecutor for soccer (but not for other sporting events) and the State’s involvement in precautionary audits of the assets of referees.

In addition to this, they also claim that the responsibility for electronic tickets must be a concern of the owners of soccer stadiums and not the teams themselves.

However, they did agree on Kontonis’ initiative to tackle violence and allow the Sport Minister to impose fines on clubs over actions carried out by fans.

Read more about this case by clicking on the links below

Gov't will not tolerate violence in sports venues

http://hellasfrappe.blogspot.gr/2015/03/govt-will-not-tolerate-violence-in.html

AEK fans storm pitch attack Olympiakos soccer players (VIDEOS)

http://hellasfrappe.blogspot.gr/2015/03/aek-fans-storm-pitch-attack-olympiakos.html

SPORTS MINISTER on Super League Suspension: We will not accept threats and blackmails

http://hellasfrappe.blogspot.gr/2015/02/sports-minister-on-super-league.html

Greek Basketball Cup - Panathinaikos claims 16th win in a row

Panathinaikos won the Greek Basketball Cup after defeating Apollon Patras 68-53 in the final that took place at the OAKA stadium at the weekend. This was the 16th overall and fourth consecutive win for the “Greens” since the 2011/2012 season. The victory also marked the 9th Cup win for Panathinaikos captain Dimitris Diamantidis, placing him at the top of the list with most wins, ahead of former team mates Frangiskos Alvertis and Kostas Tsartsaris, who each have eight.

The Greens quickly took the lead at the start of the game and thanks to strong defensive plays managed to take a 19-point lead by half-time (39-20). In the second half Panathinaikos relaxed their offensive game and Nikos Vetoulas’ squad took advantage of it but the difference in score was too great for any surprises.

AEK fans storm pitch attack Olympiakos soccer players (VIDEOS)

Twenty-eight minutes after Olympiakos scored the winning goal against AEK in Wednesday night's game, the match was abandoned. Right after the goal was scored, fans of AEK stormed the pitch and began throwing flares and other objects at Olympiamkos players. A police officer was also apparently injured.

AEK fans were frustrated and wanted to win the game because of the financial troubles that led to their club's demotion from the First to the Third Division of the Greek league at the end of the 2012-13 season. At present, AEK is in Division 2 and is favored to be promoted to the top flight, the Superleague, next season.

The latest incident comes at a difficult time for Greek soccer. Another incident-laden game, between Panathinaikos and Olympiakos, forced Minister of Sports Stavros Kontonis to suspend Superleague activity for one whole week and, when games resumed last weekend, it was in front of empty stands.

The Greek Minister, who met with UEFA President Michel Platini earlier this week, has repeatedly said that he wants to crack down on endemic violence and corruption in Greek soccer matches.

As such, he and the many clubs have agreed, on principle, to the long-overdue introduction of electronic, personalized ticketing, aiming at both cracking down on tax evasion and identifying troublemakers.

Ironically, Kontonis was present at Wednesday night's game.

Click HERE to read related story

Reference in Greek: sport24.gr

Melissanidis gives deposition on soccer criminal organisation case

Dimitris Melissanidis, the strongman of AEK's soccer club, gave his deposition earlier this week to examining magistrate for Corruption George Andreadis, who is handling the case concerning the 16 Greek football officials who are accused of match-fixing. Following his deposition, Melissanidis made no statements. The charges -among others-, include setting up, participating and leading a criminal organization, fraud, attempted extortion and bribery.

The Examining magistrate apparently took on the case following an in depth investigation by prosecutor Aristidis Koreas. In the investigative report, which was submitted to the head prosecutor last December, it was revealed that this criminal organization was active between 2011-2013.

The list of the defendants - whose names have not been released by the Prosecution - includes three board members of the Hellenic Soccer Federation (EPO), members of Greece's Central Refereeing Committee (KED) and two Super League soccer club heads.

Gov't will not tolerate violence in sports venues

In an interview with the state run ANA-MPA news agency, Deputy Minister for Sports Stavros Kontonis said that the SYRIZA government will not tolerate violence, bullying and any kind of anti-social behavior in sports venues. Kontonis reiterated that the Sunday's soccer matches are going to be held behind closed doors and added:

     "We will consider whether this measure will be applied to the next week games too ... I believe that things will have been settled by then. I expect today the Hellenic Football Federation's (EPO) directive to the referees that will provide for stricter regulations. There are other issues on which there is no agreement and that is why we will have further deliberations, as life progresses through dialogue."

The Minister said that there will soon be a new sports law.

     "We will soon take steps with a draft law that we will shortly submit to the Parliament, because the sports law, as it has been announced, needs time, solves persistent problems of all sports and all federations. We will intervene to remedy shortcomings and gaps in the existing legislation, to render the state responsible in terms of maintaining the order and imposing fines on those who behave inappropriately in sports venues," he noted.

Kontonis called on fans to trust the government, which is trying to establish a framework based on fairness, transparency and meritocracy.

MEanwhile reports are claiming that the government decided to allow Greece's Super League matches to go ahead this weekend after last week's postponement due to crowd violence. But the games will all be played behind closed doors, Kontonis announced. The decision was taken after the government received assurances that steps would be taken in future to combat public disorder at matches.

It should be reminded that the government suspended all of last week's Super League matches for the third time this season following violence between supporters of rival Athens teams Olympiakos and Panathinaikos the previous weekend.

ANA-MPA, Reuters

SPORTS MINISTER on Super League Suspension: We will not accept threats and blackmails

The decision to suspend the Greek Super League soccer games for a week, which was taken earlier this week after recent clashes broke out between the administrations (and fans) of Panathinaikos and Olympiakos soccer teams is even worse outside the sports venues, Deputy Minister for Sports Stavros Kontonis told ANT1 tv on Thursday.

     "There will be no delays, nor will we accept threats and blackmails," Kontonis underlined adding that "the problem must be solved once and for all."

He said that incidents such as these inspire fans to behave in the exact same way (if not worse).

He then said he has consulted with the presidents of the Hellenic Soccer Federation (EPO), Super League and Football League, and it was agreed that the law obligating the issuing of electronic tickets would be implemented as soon as possible. He explained that the government has no other ultimatum but to enforce this law because the legislative framework of soccer is "rotten" (to the core), and as a result the government does not have the opportunity to intervene. He did, however, clarify that this too will be solved very soon via a draft bill.

It should be reminded that the Greek Super League soccer games were suspended for a week following violent clashes both in the stadiums and during a meeting of organization heads.

The minister is expected to hold another meeting with the Super League next Wednesday in order to determine whether or not steps were taken towards resolving the issue.

Meanwhile, Greece's police union said they submitted their proposals for dealing with this violence to both the Sports Minister as well as the Alternate Minister for Civil Protection Yiannis Panousis.

Soccer Super League Championships Could Be Suspended Following Violent Clashes

The games between long-standing rivals Olymiakos and Panathinaikos have always polarized their fans at most of the sporting matches in Greece. In many cases, the games went from noble competition to violent hooligan clashes. The game last Sunday was no exception. It was marred by violent outbursts of soccer hooligans as well as flares and fireworks being thrown towards the players, coach and even the owner of the Piraeus-based team.

The Green Team many have won the game, but the clash with the Red Team continued at Super League’s board meeting on Tuesday and it was quite ugly.

During the proceedings the owner of Olympiakos (Vangelis Marinakis), and the owner of Panathinaikos (Yannis Alafouzos), exchanged harsh words and blamed each other for the events that occurred during last Sunday’s game.

Marinakis apparently lost his temper and allegedly threw a glass of water at Alafouzos. It was also reported that one of Marinakis' security giards punched the Vice President of Panathinaikos (Vasilis Konstantinou). Following the incident, Alafouzos said that he was going to press charges against Marinakis for the unprecedented assault.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras would meet with the Deputy Minister of Sports Stavros Kontonis in order to discuss possible solutions. Reports claim that Kontonis has already met with representatives of the Hellenic Olympic Committee and the Hellenic Gymnastics Federation and appears determined to suspend the soccer championship unless some peaceful solution is found.

If the Super League is suspended it is going to be the third time this season that professional soccer in Greece has been shut down.

Games were halted for one week last September following the death of a soccer fan after violent clashes at a third division match between Ethnikos Piraeus and Irodotos.

Officlas then suspended matches again last November after Christoforos Zografos, assistant director of the Central Refereeing Committee (KED), was taken to hospital following a violent assault.

Successive governments and soccer authorities have attempted on more than one occasion, but failed, to stamp out the violence that is displayed during these games. Let us hope that this time they find a solution.

Article in Greek - sport24

Saudi Soccer Fans Give BIG Welcome To George Samaras

The fans of Saudi Arabia's Al-Hilal team swarmed the Riyadh airport earlier this week to welcome Greek soccer player George Samaras who recently signed a contract to play with the team.

The fans were so excited that police authorities had to intervene in order to allow the Greek soccer player to reach his car.

It should be reminded that Samaras recently signed a contract which is going to pay him well over US 14 million in the next three years with the Saudi Arabian team.

Olympiakos holds lead in Greek league, PAOK follows

Piraeus' very own Olympiakos holds the lead in the Greek league after its 2-0 win over Panaitolikos, with Thessaloniki's PAOK team following two points behind. During the exciting match, Mathieu Dossevi and Yiannis Maniatis scored in the second half and giving the reds a 2-0 victory over visiting Panaitolikos.

Dossevi opened the scoring in the 69th minute with a shot that was made at close range after being assisted from the one and only Costas Mitroglou.

The win allowed Piraeus' almighty red team retain its lead in the league standings, two points clear of PAOK, which claimed victory over Platanias by 1-0.

On Saturday, Panathinaikos lost more ground in the table after an away 1-1 match with Panionios. The green-team is now ranked in third place, or 8 points behind its rival Olympiakos and 6 points beind PAOK.

Fanatic AEK Fans Threaten Mayor of N. Philadelphia, Attack Reporter

About 60 fanatic AEK fans appeared at the sanctification ceremony of the lake in Nea Philadelphia in Northern Athens which took place on Tuesday, while they hurled abuse and threats against local mayor Aris Vasilopoulos. The soccer hooligans intentionally wanted to interrupt the ceremony so they not only made serious threats against the mayor, but they also assaulted a local reporter and the head of the police forces.

Just a couple of weeks ago AEK fans also assaulted councilors at a municipal meeting.

As the threats escalated, the mayor eventually departed. The “demonstration”, which lasted about twenty minutes, was terminated over the controversial construction of a new soccer stadium for AEK, on the grounds of its former stadium.

The construction of the new stadium however is going to need to clear a number of trees from the adjacent forest, which has caused local residents to formally object to the stadium.

Source in Greek - www.sportdog.gr

Related articles

• Agressive AEK Fans Attack 5 Local Politicians Over Soccer Stadium Construction

Agressive AEK Fans Attack 5 Local Politicians Over Soccer Stadium Construction

Not one, not two but FIVE Nea Philadelphia (or Halkidona) municipal councilors were hospitalized late on Monday night, after a group of AEK FC fans barged into the council hall to protest the construction of the soccer stadium in the area, a report in the To Vima newspaper said.

Nea Philadelphia Mayor Aris Vasilopoulos said that the hooligans interrupted the council meeting and vandalized the room, and then and demanded that the stadium construction be discussed (even though it was not on the agenda). The mayor informed the fans of a scheduled meeting with fans representatives on Tuesday to discuss the issues in a calm and civil environment.

Vasilopoulos then went on to name councilor George Arapoglou as the instigator of the violent act.

Since the attack, a number of news sites and newspapers allied with AEK cultivated tension with the municipal authority, calling the mayor a “Trojan horse” for “continuing the war against AEK”.

On his part Vasilopoulos had called the council to denounce the rejection of the Forest Directorate’s report regarding an adjacent grove. The current plans for the construction of the AEK FC soccer stadium requires that many trees will be cut down. This has angered many local residents and although they initially supported the construction of the stadium in the area, they are now objecting to the project because they do not want these trees cut down.

One big mess - And a normal day in Athens!

Second Ruling Against Grant For Refurbishing of Panathinaikos stadium

For a second time, the Greek Court of Audits ruled against a grant of 7.0-million euros for the refurbishment of the Panathinaikos FC stadium in Central Athens, calling it illegal. The grant was apparently approved by the previous Attica Region authority under Giannis Sgouros (hand selected by the previous George Papandreou government). After examining the contract, the court agreed with the previous ruling which had found it was contrary to the public interest and violated the principle of cost-efficiency.

NEXT KNOCKOUT ROUND - Olympiakos drawn with Dnipro in Round of 32

The gods definately smiled on Olympiakos at the Europa League draw which was held on Monday. According to reports Olympiakos FC is expected to face Ukrainian runner-ups Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk in the two-leg knockout phase of 32. The first match is scheduled to take place on February 19th, 2015 in Kiev, where Dnipro has been forced to relocate due to the ongoing military operations in that country, with the second match scheduled for February 26th in Piraeus.