Vangelis Alexandris launched an attack on Vangelis Liolios during a morning show on ERT.
The Greek coach accused the president of the Greek Basketball Federation (EOK) and one of those implicated in the basketball scandal of turning the EOK into a closed club, while noting that he wasn’t exactly… taken by surprise by what has come to light in recent days.
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In fact, he emphasized that he himself had been pointing out the problems with officiating for quite some time and now feels vindicated, while he noted that he, too, as a coach, has been wronged by Papapetrou and Tsaroucha.
Here are Alexandris’s statements to ERT in detail:
On the basketball scandal:
“This didn’t come as a complete surprise to me. Since I’m active on social media and have a lot of followers, and I’ve been speaking out about the refereeing for a year and a half now, I see that I was proven right. But the priority now is to find a solution to this whole situation, which has exposed us across Europe.”
On the system created by Liolios:
“I’ve been in the game for 60 years and have seen every Hellenic Basketball Federation (EOK) administration to date. I wouldn’t call the system corrupt, but it is biased. We see games where referees blatantly disadvantage certain teams, and the very next week they’re back on the court. There’s no oversight, no punishment of any kind, and specific teams are favored in every game. I’ve spoken out and written about the refereeing by Tsaroucha and the referees involved. I’m fed up with this officiating, and no matter which coach you ask, they’ll tell you what they’ve had to deal with because of poor officiating.”
On Liolios and his actions within the Hellenic Basketball Federation (EOK):
“We know how he treats his subordinates, how he has turned the EOK into a closed club—and even the partnerships he’s formed, such as with travel agencies—there are far too many.”
On the Amaroúsio massacre:
“But when I saw Mr. Giannakopoulos’s statements, when I saw the statements from his own coach—who had worked with Mr. Papatheodorou—and when I saw the statements made after the actual massacre in Marousi, saying that ‘I’m not afraid of you’ right to the face of the Federation president, that’s when I believed he wanted to end his basketball career. Given what he was saying to the president of the Basketball Federation, I thought the least he could be punished with would be a 2- to 3-year suspension, but no proceedings were initiated.”
On the fact that the ring plaguing the sport has been exposed:
“The arrests didn’t happen by chance; the money cannot be justified. These specific referees had been in the crosshairs for many years.”
Regarding Tsaroucha and Papapetrou:
“I was wronged by Papapetrou when he altered the result while I was coaching Larissa in Kavala, and by Ms. Tsaroucha in a match in Patras when I was coaching Heraklis.”
Regarding the “warning bell” he rang for PAOK and Aris investors:
“I told those who invest in Aris and PAOK basketball to be cautious, so they’d be prepared for whatever they might face. They should be wary of certain individuals, about whom I’ve been writing for quite some time.”
*photo source: vagelisalexandris
