Report: EPL club owner accused of international scandal

In a court case rife with allegations of match-fixing, vendettas and criminal activity, the allegations leveled in Evangelos Marinakis’ defamation claim are among the most explosive claims to emerge in European football circles. In the background is a raging battle at London’s High Court, where Irini Karipidis, president and chief executive of Greek club Aris Thessaloniki, is contesting a £5 million defamation claim by Marinakis, claiming she and her family have been dragged into a web of fear and threats because of their refusal to fulfill Marinakis’ demands. As reported by Daniel Taylor of AthleticKaripidis claims that Marinakis’ influence extends far beyond football to the realms of organized crime and intimidation.

Karipidis’ testimony described Marinakis as someone who “openly boasts” of his criminal activities, including smuggling of sanctioned oil and fixing football matches. Marinakis’ quest for dominance was not limited to Nottingham Forest or Olympiakos, his Greek club, she said, but also included attempts to fix Aris’ matches in favor of Olympiakos. In one particular instance, she alleged that before a match between Olympiakos and Aris in 2022, Marinakis allegedly “pushed Theodoros (her brother) to ‘fix'” the game in favor of Olympiakos. When Theodoros refused, insisting that “all the games will be fine,” Marinakis reportedly stormed off, threatening, “You’re not leaving the field alive if you lose this game.”

Such accusations highlight the dark side of the club’s management and raise deep questions about ethical boundaries in football. While Marinakis denies the claims, they are a stark reminder of the lengths some can go in pursuit of athletic success. In another incident, Karipidis claimed that Marinakis’ right-hand man, Vassilis Roubetis, threatened her brother, saying: “I’ll blow you up in the Porsche you have on the street with sevens” – a reference to its number plate. This confrontation allegedly caused Theodoros to flee to the safety of Aris’ dressing room.

Karipidis’ statement depicts a vendetta that she says did not end on the field but permeated her family’s life. She claims her family’s safety was constantly threatened by an “orchestrated campaign of intimidation.” As she says, hooded men started appearing near her house, graffiti appeared on their walls, and her office was set on fire. The most disturbing incident was a collision at a traffic light where motorcyclists reportedly cornered her car, threatening her and her child. “They knew everything about me,” she said, describing how she “fell down with fear.”

The accusations signal an escalation of animosity that goes far beyond the typical rivalry seen in sports. They suggest a calculated attempt to undermine not only her brother, but the entire Karipides family. The case draws attention to the murky dynamics that can plague professional soccer, where personal vendettas and power plays threaten to cloud the spirit of the game.

While Karipidis describes his actions as a search for the truth, Marinakis paints a radically different picture, characterizing Karipidis’ campaign as a carefully orchestrated smear operation aimed at destroying his reputation. Marinakis claims her allegations are baseless and a personal vendetta. His legal team, led by David Sherborne, argued that if Karipidis’ quest was indeed “truth-telling”, her methods, such as creating a “dummy account of disgruntled Nottingham Forest fans” and hiring a van to drive around Nottingham on match days. — seems doubtful.

His rebuttal casts doubt on the integrity of her motives, suggesting that the campaign was not so much about truth as revenge. Marinakis strongly denies the allegations, saying they have caused him “great concern” and tarnished his name around the world.

As the case progresses, the wider implications for football’s image and governance are undeniable. This animosity highlights the extreme measures that some allegedly go to to ensure their club’s success or undermine a rival. If there were any truth to the allegations, they would expose a disturbing underbelly of professional football that goes beyond rivalries and into the realm of organized crime and vendettas.

The court outcome will undoubtedly have far-reaching consequences for both parties and potentially change the public perception of football club ownership in Greece and beyond. It remains to be seen whether the court will throw out the case, or whether we will witness a full-blown trial that could reveal deeper problems in the sport’s governance.

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To those who follow the game, the allegations surrounding Evangelos Marinakis and Irini Karipidis read more like a crime drama than a sports feud. Many fans are no doubt disappointed by the sheer scale of the allegations – a reminder that fair play is not always practiced in football’s top echelons. When fans hear Karipidis’s claims about match-fixing and bribery in Greek football, it may reinforce the suspicions they harbored about the opaque aspects of the sport. After all, allegations of match-fixing are nothing new, but claims of explicit threats and links to organized crime add a new layer of concern.

For the average fan, the thought of someone at the helm of a major club supposedly wielding such influence can be deeply disappointing. They may ask if Marinakis’ influence extends beyond Greece, especially given his ownership of Nottingham Forest. This kind of speculation creates a ripple effect, giving rise to skepticism and the feeling that football governance, even in such beloved leagues as the English Premier League, can be tainted.