Panathinaikos BC issued a particularly scathing statement regarding developments in Greek basketball, launching an attack on the refereeing system and announcing its intention to file a lawsuit, with the aim of reclaiming what it believes it has been deprived of in recent years.
The “Greens” cite repeated unfair refereeing decisions, penalties, and disqualifications, linking the situation they describe to the public stance of the club’s owner, Dimitris Giannakopoulos. At the same time, they express strong dissatisfaction with the functioning of the Greek basketball system, arguing that the club, as well as its athletes and coaches, have been harmed.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
The announcement comes at a time when developments surrounding the arrest warrants for six individuals—including the president of the Hellenic Basketball Federation (EOK), Vangelis Liolios, have sparked strong reactions within the basketball community.
The statement reads as follows:
For years, Panathinaikos BC has been subjected to outrageous refereeing decisions by very specific individuals who are repeatedly appointed unlawfully, loses titles, plays behind closed doors in the arena it paid for with its own money, and pays hundreds of thousands of euros in fines, because its owner, Dimitris Giannakopoulos, publicly condemns and rants about everything that’s so repulsive—things everyone sees but remains silent about. He was targeted, slandered, barred from watching his team, and prevented from attending his father’s memorial service.
Panathinaikos BC stays and plays in games with referees who have been indicted for felonies, with referees who keep hundreds of thousands of euros in cash in their homes, it continues to play with referees who have no respect for the sport; it continues to play within a rotten system that violates everything we love most. Basketball.
You tried to wear us down; you tried to turn every ideal, every logic, every reality on its head. You believed you were succeeding. You forgot, however, something very crucial. PANATHINAIKOS is not trophies, titles, jerseys, or faces. PANATHINAIKOS IS A VALUE. And those of us who serve it know full well that by defending it, we are defending its history, the shamrock, JUSTICE, and its PRINCIPLES.
Panathinaikos BC will take legal action to reclaim what was stolen by a regime of corruption. We owe it to our fans, who endured this ordeal live on television, and of course we owe it to our athletes and coaches, who were deprived of what they were entitled to. And we will do it. This will be our next victory over the regime.
Good luck in your darkness.
Good luck in your nonexistence.
The light of the sun will always prevail.
P.S.: Panathinaikos BC is monitoring developments and will issue further statements whenever deemed necessary.
*photo source: KYPE
