Forest owner Marinakis accused of match-fixing in Greece as rival fights his UK lawsuit
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Olympiacos president Evangelos Marinakis, who also owns Nottingham Forest, celebrating after the Greek club's Europa Conference League semi-final, first-leg win over Aston Villa in May 2024.
PHOTO: Action Images via Reuters
LONDON – Evangelos Marinakis, a Greek shipping magnate and owner of English Premier League football club Nottingham Forest, was on Oct 31 accused of trying to fix a Greek football match, in a London libel lawsuit he is bringing over an alleged smear campaign in Britain.
Marinakis launched the libel case against Irini Karipidis, chair of Greek Super League club Aris Thessaloniki, and others at London’s High Court earlier in 2024.
He alleges Karipidis was behind a website containing allegations that Marinakis was involved in match fixing, drug smuggling and shipping Russian oil in breach of sanctions, which he strongly denies.
Marinakis’ lawyers say the campaign involved driving a mobile billboard around Forest’s City Ground stadium before two matches in 2023, directing people to the website.
Karipidis, however, says she has “a clear defence of truth” to the libel lawsuit.
Her lawyer Matthew Hodson said in court documents that Marinakis had started a campaign against Karipidis after her brother Theodoros refused to fix a game between Aris and Olympiakos, which is owned by Marinakis, in 2023.
Hodson said in the document that during the game, which finished 2-2, Marinakis “became so angry that according to (Karipidis) he threatened that Theodoros ‘would not leave the field alive’ if Olympiakos lost”.
Marinakis’ lawyer David Sherborne said in court documents that the allegation had been made in open court simply to generate adverse publicity.
He argued that Karipidis’ application to revoke permission to serve the case on her was “a transparent attempt to further their campaign” against Marinakis.
Ari Harow, a former aide to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is also a defendant, with Marinakis alleging that he facilitated payments to support the alleged smear campaign.
Harow’s lawyer Ali Sinai said in court documents the case against him should also be thrown out.
Separately, Marinakis had also made the headlines on Oct 22.
He was given a five-match stadium ban for spitting on the floor as match officials walked past in the tunnel after Forest’s 1-0 loss at home to Fulham on Sept 28.
The BBC reported that Marinakis was found guilty of improper conduct, with an independent regulatory commission saying there was “no excuse” for such an “an egregious display of disrespectful behaviour” that could “fuel disrespect towards match officials”.
On the pitch, though, Forest have been doing well under Nuno Espirito Santo, who helped the club avoid relegation in the 2023-24 Premier League season.
After nine games this season, they are seventh on 16 points, just one point behind fifth-placed Chelsea. REUTERS
