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A Greek tragedy

There is nothing new about politics and oligarchs getting mixed up, but it is still unusual for a government to intervene to legislate to settle a row between rival teams, but that is what has happened in Greece.

The two clubs are Ivan Savvidis's PAOK (based in Thessalonuki) and Vangelis Marinakis's Olympiakos (based in Piraeus). Mr Savvidis has a reputation of enjoying close links with Vladimir Putin. Mr Marinakis is a shipping magnate and the proprietor of a media empire.

Both oligarchs are dedicated to their clubs. Mr Savvidis was banned from attending PAOK matches for 12 months after he rushed on the pitch in 2018 to protest against a penalty decision wearing a holstered pistol on his belt. Mr Marinakis was acquitted by the Greek supreme court of charges of match fixing in 2018.

Mr Savvidis acquired PAOK in 2012. In 2018 he acquired Xanthi in 2018 in violation of a single investor owning more than one Super League club, leading to a complaint from Mr Marinakis. The acquisition was made through a Cyprus offshore company controlled by a relative of Mr Savvidis. PAOK has emphatically denied that the family owned Xanthi, describing it as 'an absolute and huge lie'.

The judgment of the Greek independent sports authority was that PAOK should be relegated. Such was the intensity of feeling that this decision generated that a militant PAOK fan club warned a minister against showing up anywhere in the north without bodyguards and a police escort.

The Government passed an emergency decree that prevented the relegation but docked points from PAOK, making it likely that Olympiakos would win the title. An adviser to the sports ministry told the Financial Times:'The legislation was intended to be a compromise because the northern team will avoid the stigma of relegation, while Olympiakos becomes the front runner to win the championship again after a gap of several years.'

Law professor Arias Hatias told the Pink 'Un 'There's no doubt that this ruling [by the sports authority], if adopted, would have a high political cost. But the fact that the government has dismissed the findings of an independent regulatory committee and accommodated an oligarch sends a very disheartening message.'

Football in Greece has been characterised by crowd violence which can spill over into street riots. There are frequent allegations of match fixing and bribery of referees and players. Club officials have previously stormed the pitch to attack referees and linesmen.

Prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has asked Fifa and Uefa to help Athens 'revive and reform' Greek football. 'This will mean tight regulation and international surveillance,' he said. Good luck with that.

Four Four Two published a feature on the bitter rivalry between the two clubs: Bitter title clash They meet next Sunday.

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