The… war of words between Panathinaikos and Olympiacos continues.
This time, it was the “red-and-whites’” turn to take up the gauntlet, calling on the “greens” to respond to the allegations leveled against them, while emphasizing that it is “a common tactic of that particular club to avoid responding with evidence to the allegations we’ve been making for years. As for the tax evasion scandal, not a word. Don’t such serious allegations of tax evasion in amateur sports really concern you?”
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
Rennes vs. Olympiacos: The Piraeus team is aiming for… 10
The Piraeus fans consistently characterize Panathinaikos as a favored team, citing comments from the “clover” regarding the swimming pool set to be built to host Olympiacos.
It should be noted that Olympiacos initially issued a statement regarding a 100,000-euro grant to the “Greens,” who responded sharply.
The announcement
We are not at all surprised by Panathinaikos A.O.’s announcement. After all, it is standard practice for this particular club to avoid responding with facts to the allegations we have been making for years.
Not a word about the tax evasion scandal. Don’t such serious allegations of tax evasion in amateur sports really give you pause?
The team that consistently portrays itself as a victim, even though it is constantly favored—and there’s evidence to prove it—has the audacity to cite the 17.9 million euros for the Water Sports and Culture Center in Piraeus.
At the same time, a project worth over 250 million euros is underway in Votanikos, through which it is gaining use of a new 40,000-seat soccer stadium, two modern indoor arenas, one of which has a capacity of 3,100 seats, an Olympic-sized swimming pool, and hundreds of square meters of space with facilities to house the club’s other departments.
And all of this in “exchange” for Leoforos, which does not belong to them. A stadium that is historic, yes, but a ruin, over 100 years old, with a value of… minus 15 million euros, since that is the estimated cost of demolishing it and removing the rubble.
This is the biggest scandal of unfair competition in Greek sports and will go down in history: the government is intervening so that one of the competing clubs can acquire five or six modern stadiums, as part of a project exceeding 250 million euros.
At one point, their fans protested the move to Votanikos, holding up a banner that read, “Not to Eleonas, not even in the next century.” Ultimately, given all that has been offered to them, they were persuaded to stop protesting.
When the Attica Region launched its sports facility funding program, Olympiacos immediately moved to build the new swimming pool.
At its own expense—amounting to hundreds of thousands of euros—it prepared and submitted the required plans so that the project could move forward.
And to set the record straight: KYDAP will be owned by the state, and Olympiacos will be the lessee with financial obligations for 49 years.
If Olympiacos—which has been triumphing for so many years without its own facility—does not deserve a modern swimming complex, then who does? Our Club has dominated men’s and women’s water polo for decades, with 110 titles, 12 European trophies, and consistent appearances in finals.
In swimming, it has produced male and female athletes who, in turn, have brought home dozens of Olympic and world championship medals for Greece.
At the same time, it consistently supplies players to the national water polo teams—a sport that, thanks to the successes of both club and national teams, is considered our national sport. And all this without having its own swimming pool.
Panathinaikos, which has never won a water polo title, on what grounds is it acquiring the Olympic-sized swimming pool in Votanikos, when other clubs that are more active are left without a home?
And if, as you imply in your announcement, the Renti indoor pool belongs to Olympiacos S.F.P., then let’s hand it over to the government so they can build us a modern indoor arena with over 3,000 seats for free, just as they’ll do for you.
P.S. 1: Seriously, when you refer to “competitive failures,” do you mean the 145-21 record in team sports titles over the past 16 years, or the 28-5 record from the last two years under this administration?
P.S. 2: Do you also count the third European volleyball title we won at SEF after qualifying at the Agios Thomas Indoor Arena? A European title that Olympiacos wanted to win gloriously by fighting it out on the court—not just on paper, as they could have!
*photo source: Olympiacosbc.gr
