Panagiotis Papaioannou, the attorney for EOK President Vangelis Liolios, described the charges against his client as “flimsy,” Panagiotis Papaioannou, following the preliminary hearing and the first review of the case file implicating him, among other things, in fixed basketball games. At the same time, he questioned the credibility of the witnesses.
“After reviewing the case file, the charges appear to be flimsy from the very first reading. It relies on three individuals, one of whom has been involved in various illegal activities, the second is a former casino croupier and member of a specific group of individuals, and the third is a defendant charged with gang membership. “There are no messages concerning Liolios that have anything to do with match-fixing except in the imagination of these three individuals,” said Mr. Papaioannou.
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“There are some referees who are testifying about various general complaints they have, and they, too, are under criminal investigation for offenses committed at an unspecified time. That is the basis of this case file. This was confirmed upon receiving the case file,” he added.
“Today, three witnesses from the highest echelons of refereeing testified, proving the following: by safeguarding the integrity of the sport and refereeing, Greek refereeing—based on how it actually operates, not just formally but substantively—and based on the facts they know about the individuals involved who engaged in various underhanded schemes. We will tell you that this case may have criminal implications for various individuals who engaged in various schemes and gained various benefits. “They explained how referees are selected and submitted evidence used to evaluate referees to the investigating judge,” he continued.
At the same time, he expressed the view that charges will be filed soon. “You will soon see the true scope of the case, which does not involve the president. He is not the kind of person—a businessman and an institutional figure—who needs to discuss matters with people who bet 5,000 on matches. This is clear from the case file,” he stated.
He also expressed his outrage over the leaks of portions of the case file. “There’s this message saying so-and-so said this. This is a sensationalist treatment of the truth. In other words, I’m focusing on one point to prevent the public from piecing together the rest of the evidence in the case file, which the public is not aware of. And since, of course, Liolios’s side of the story is not the one that will be leaked—in violation of Article 251 of the Penal Code—the case file, those who leak the case file are harming the public and misinforming them,” he emphasized.
*photo source: CNA
