Olympiakos, Notts Forest owner Marinakis faces court for match-fixing

Athens (AFP) – Shipping magnate Vangelis Marinakis, the owner of Olympiakos as well as English club Nottingham Forest, lashed out Wednesday after being told that he and 27 others must stand trial accused of corruption in Greek football. 

“You know very well that I do not bend. One can withstand when he is not afraid of anything and that I have no relationship with corruption charges. I have learned to be patient and at the end to justify myself with glory,” said Marinakis. 

The Greek Supreme Court dismissed an appeal made by the accused and therefore Marinakis, together with former Greek football federation president Giorgos Sarris and an ex-legal advisor, will stand trial accused of manipulating results of matches.

Marinakis denies the charges.

A total of 28 people are facing charges including former federation members, ex-referees, the owners of Super League clubs Levadiakos and Atromitos, as well as former coaches and players. 

In March 2018, Marinakis was charged with drug trafficking. 

A judiciary source told AFP then that Marinakis is also being prosecuted for “possession and trafficking of drugs” and for “associating with criminals.”

Piraeus prosecutors had banned Marinakis from leaving the country because of a probe into the financing of a company that chartered the Noor1, a petrol tanker that was seized off the Greek coast in June 2014 with two tonnes of heroin on board. 

Prosecutors claim the heroin was to be transported by truck through Greece and on into western Europe. 

Marinakis, 51, has furiously denied the charges. 

He bought Nottingham Forest, the two-time European champions who are now in England’s second division, in May 2017 in a £50 million deal.