Amid the rapid developments surrounding the scandal in Greek basketball, Panagiotis Fasoulas emphasizes that “both those of us who come from the very heart of the sport and the government must make a radical break. A break that will help clean up the current state of decay, while simultaneously moving us toward the future.”
At the same time, he refers to what has happened in recent years during the Hellenic Olympic Committee (EOK) elections and emphasizes that the investigation should be expanded to include the 2021 and 2024 election processes.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
His statement in full: “We are undoubtedly in the darkest period for the sport of basketball, a sport that has always been synonymous with national achievements and national pride.
Recent court rulings have proven that the rumors and insinuations of previous years regarding certain actions, individuals, and their roles within the Hellenic Basketball Federation were entirely justified. The fact is now that a criminal organization exists within the Hellenic Basketball Federation.
In 2021, during the Hellenic Basketball Federation elections, together with Fanis Christodoulou, Memo Ioannou, and other colleagues—all of whom are well-respected in the sports community— we submitted a different proposal for the development and future of Greek basketball. In this effort, we were joined by Nikos Galis and Panagiotis Giannakis.
The results, however, did not vindicate us. In the subsequent elections, in 2024, while the Liolios administration had already shown its true colors, Mr. Liolios and the council members of his faction—surprisingly—secured an even higher percentage of the vote.
As if that weren’t enough, both during and after the elections, a coordinated effort was launched to personally ridicule me, discrediting, and belittling my character within the basketball community.
I believe that now that the truth is coming to light, the investigation must be expanded to include both election processes—those of 2021 and 2024—which were conducted via electronic voting rather than in person, following Mr. Liolios’s insistence, and in which he himself recorded vote shares that cannot be explained by logic or the actual demographics of the electorate.
During my term as a council member until 2024, although at a certain point I abstained from attending the meetings of a body whose members knew only the word “yes,” I highlighted in every way possible the lack of transparency, the normalization of cronyism, and the corruption of consciences—phenomena that were the “hallmarks” of the Liolios administration from day one. I continued to do the same even after the 2024 elections, in which I wasn’t even elected as a council member.
From the grandiose announcements “about children who will never cry again,” we ended up with school basketball games becoming the subject of a prosecutor’s investigation. Meritocracy has been pushed to its limits with the invention of the so-called “Wild Cards,” whereby teams were relegated on the field but ultimately remained in the division, while teams that were promoted leapfrogged those that were rightfully entitled to move up. I would also like to point out that all decisions were made unanimously by a Board of Directors composed of individuals who acted—and seek to continue acting—as “proxies” of the now-former president.
As for current developments, I believe that Greek basketball and the people who truly love and serve it are devastated.
To immediately put a stop to the climate of mistrust that has been created and to restore the sport’s prestige as much as possible, we—the people who come from the very heart of the sport—as well as the government, must take radical action.
A change that will help clean up the current state of decay, while simultaneously moving us toward a new era.
A new era that must be based on transparency, legality, and equality for everyone involved in basketball.
Panagiotis Fasoulas
“BASKETBALL FIRST”
