The defendants in the match-fixing scandal rocking Greek basketball apparently had expensive tastes. According to evidence from the investigation, as reported by Star TV, an international referee demanded to stay at a luxury hotel, with her stay lasting three days. The Star TV evening news bulletin brought to light the testimonies of two witnesses whose statements blew the case wide open.
Basketball scandal: The accused referee’s messages about the luxury hotel
According to Star TV, the accused international referee, identified by the initials T.V., would rest at Costa Navarino resort when she wasn’t officiating games. A message she sent to a former basketball official — who has since become a key witness — reveals her demands for free luxury accommodation.
Message from accused T.V. to former basketball official: “If I may be so bold — can you arrange for me to stay at Costa Navarino?“
Former basketball official: “I’ll sort it out for you.“
And so he did. He paid for the referee’s three-day stay at the hotel in September 2018, splitting the cost equally with a co-accused businessman.
In other messages, the accused businessman told the referee — who later provided information to prosecutors — the following:
Accused businessman M.G. to referee: “Chalkida absolutely must lose. Wherever I find them I want to destroy them, because they are my enemies…“
Michalis Dimitrakopoulos, lawyer for the Marousi basketball club, stated: “In this case, the charges are built on written messages exchanged between various individuals — both those making the accusations and those who are defendants.“
Basketball scandal: Bribe money counted in bathrooms before being handed over
The case shaking Greek basketball has it all — including match-fixing bribes being counted in public bathrooms before being handed over. The Star TV news bulletin revealed what the key witness said about a €5,000 advance payment made to an accused referee — money which, he claims, the referee himself requested for the 2018 game between Faros Larissas and Aris.
“Since I had come prepared — I had brought cash with me — I gave it to him in an envelope, after first going to the bathroom to count out the exact amount of €5,000. He was surprised by how quickly I had it ready and, smiling, told me: ‘In the game the day after tomorrow, I’ll give you a little gift — you’ll see.’ The gift had to do with Panagiotis Giannakis, the Aris coach, with whom he had a bad relationship. He ejected him with two technical fouls before halftime — something extremely rare, especially for a coach of Mr. Giannakis’s stature and standing.“
Basketball scandal: “Liolios told me to pay €150,000 to get Promitheas promoted”
“Mr. Liolios’s response was: ‘I can give you €150,000, but I’d want the games to go 3-2.’ He meant that Faros should lose three games, to make Promitheas’s promotion clean — without Faros getting promoted and then withdrawing, which would have meant you’d have to pay the Faros players their promotion bonuses,” the witness claims regarding a meeting he had with Vangelis Liolios in 2016, according to Star TV. The meeting was centered around an under-the-table financial transaction.
Money was even handed over in shopping bags.
“On June 20, 2016, I went to the Coffee Island headquarters at Dachtylidi in Kifissia, where [name withheld] handed me the money in a bag in his office, telling me: ‘This money is for you, as we agreed. Vangelis couldn’t make it.’ The money was wrapped in paper napkins. I took it and left. I then called Mr. Liolios to thank him. He thanked me in return for keeping my promise.“
“I returned to the hotel in tears and said, ‘that’s enough'”
Also notable, according to Star TV, is the testimony of the active referee describing the moment he decided to report the ring to authorities. “I delivered the result I had been asked for as a referee, blatantly officiating in favor of Anagennisi in both games — they went on to win the championship. After those games, I returned to the hotel in tears, consumed by guilt, and said to myself: ‘That’s it. If I don’t get what I was promised — meaning a spot in the A1 league — I’m not doing any more favors.‘”
