By Mark Baber
May 28 – The match-fixing crisis in Greek football rumbles on with a further six players facing additional charges (making a total of 41 players, managers and referees to date), with the owner of Olympiakos being questioned and the vice-president of the Central Refereeing Committee resigning.
Last week six players from Veroia were charged over a January 2013 game in which one player, Alexander Kalogeris, has admitted he was told by his manager as he entered the field of play that his team was to lose 3-0.
Meanwhile, Olympiakos owner and shipping magnate Vangelis Marinakis (pictured) turned up for preliminary questioning at an Athens Prosecutors Office on Wednesday regarding five criminal charges (of which he claims innocence) including the establishment of a criminal gang, match-fixing, fraud, bribery and perjury and to ask for details of the evidence against him
The vice-president of the Central Refereeing Committee, Christoforos Zografos, resigned on Wednesday following allegations, which he also denies, that he was involved in match fixing.
The governing Syriza party has pledged to tackle the corruption in Greek football, with the deputy sports minister Stavros Kontonis having told parliament: “The situation in Greek football and in sport in general has escaped beyond any control and intervention.”
New legislation is being introduced and, importantly, the political will appears to be in place to tackle the problem. Despite initial worries, FIFA and UEFA appear happy with the stance of the current Greek government and its new legislation which has been amended to reflect their concerns over government interference.
The arrests of officials in Zurich on charges of corruption over recent days can be expected to weaken any resistance to pursuing the Greek investigations to their conclusion and prosecuting the individuals concerned.
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