By Matt Scott
August 25 – Olympiacos have been cleared to play in this season’s Champions League group phase after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled on Monday that UEFA had been right to admit the serial Greek champions.
Panathinaikos challenged UEFA’s ruling at a CAS hearing held last week. The club claimed that the ongoing criminal investigation into allegations of a match-fixing “crime ring” with Olympiacos’s owner, Vangelis Marinakis, at its head, meant the Piraeus club had no place in Europe’s elite competition.
An Athens court has issued an interim ban on Marinakis being involved in any football activity as part of his bail terms, yet although he is the sole shareholder of the club, UEFA does not consider Olympiacos an integrity threat.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, CAS said: “The CAS has rejected an appeal filed by the Greek football club Panathinaikos FC against UEFA and the Greek football club Olympiacos FC.
“Following an investigation into reports of alleged match-fixing in the Greek Superleague in which the President of Olympiacos was implicated, on 17 June 2015 the UEFA Appeals Body provisionally admitted Olympiacos to the 2015/16 competition and suspended its disciplinary proceedings against the club pending the receipt of further information from the Greek authorities investigating the matter. On 20 July 2015, Panathinaikos filed an appeal at the CAS requesting that Olympiacos be excluded from the 2015/16 UEFA Champions League.
“An expedited procedure was put in place and a hearing was held at the CAS Court Office on 21 August 2015. On 24 August 2015, the CAS Panel issued its decision, without the grounds, to be notified later, dismissing Panathinaikos’ appeal.”
Olympiacos will now join Barcelona, Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Juventus and others in Thursday’s Champions League group-phase draw, where they will be in pot 3.
For all the background to the match-fixing allegations in Greek football and UEFA’s investigation, see related articles below.
Related articles:
1) Marinakis accused as one of dozens the prosecutor alleges are in his “criminal organisation”:
https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&ei=bnlQVZ_IEIytUaPngfAC&url=http://www.insideworldfootball.com/world-football/europe/16904-greek-corruption-olympiacos-owner-charged-in-match-fixing-ring-round-up&ved=0CCIQFjAC&usg=AFQjCNFTJqd6Dd78whKWZ8i2Plq1TrAyVQ&sig2=OV60xBcJpRhLKzYcB88fCw
2) Inside World Football Exclusive report on Greek match-fixing, part 1: http://www.insideworldfootball.com/world-football/europe/16925-special-report-greek-corruption-cancer-reaches-to-the-heart-of-the-system
3) Inside World Football Exclusive report on Greek match-fixing, part 2:
http://www.insideworldfootball.com/world-football/europe/16933-greek-corruption-match-fixers-run-reign-of-violent-terror-from-inside-football
4) UEFA’s investigation into the match-fixing allegations surrounding Europa League participants Asteras Tripolis: http://www.insideworldfootball.com/world-football/europe/17247-exclusive-uefa-ethics-chiefs-clears-greeks-in-match-fixing-scandal-for-europa-league
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