Former basketball star Panagiotis Giannakis will face the defendants in Greece’s match-fixing case after announcing, through his lawyer, that he intends to join the proceedings in support of the prosecution.

His attorney, Andreas Mitsainas, appeared before the investigating magistrate earlier to inform him of Giannakis’ decision. According to the case file, a businessman who is a key witness has testified that in a 2018 basketball game, a referee who had allegedly been paid off ejected Giannakis, then the opposing team’s coach, with technical fouls.

Three witnesses questioned

Before the first accused referee began his defense testimony, defendant Vangelis Liolios, through his lawyer Panagiotis Papaioannou, asked that three refereeing officials be questioned: the president of the Central Refereeing Committee (KED), a KED member and the president of the Hellenic Referees Federation.

Papaioannou said the witnesses explained how referees are assigned and evaluated, and described how both the official, institutional figures such as Liolios and the “hidden” players operated. His comments were aimed at rebutting the case file’s claims that basketball games were fixed through referees.

Napkin-wrapped cash and coded phrases

In lengthy statements to the sports prosecutor who led the investigation, two witnesses described cash passed around wrapped in napkins, a standard €5,000 payment to referees for officiating games in a certain way, coded phrases, and efforts to recruit referees to help Liolios get elected president of the Hellenic Basketball Federation (EOK).

Both witnesses admitted their own criminal involvement and reportedly gave the prosecutor important details about how games were rigged. One of them also handed over a detailed diary listing the suspicious games now under investigation.

According to their testimony, the scheme began in 2020 with the goal of getting Liolios elected head of the EOK. Once he won, control over refereeing began. The witnesses also described the ejection of coaches who were out of favor, such as Giannakis, and claimed that referees who refused to cooperate were pushed aside.

The statements also point to a central role allegedly played by a businessman who was a close confidant of Liolios and is among those arrested.

€100,000 in a bag

One of the witnesses, a businessman and former president of a second-division team, laid out the full sequence of events to the prosecutor. In effect, he admitted he was bribed to clear the way for Promitheas Patras to move up a division while Liolios was the club’s president.

He said Liolios told him at the time that since his team lacked the money to pursue promotion and set up a professional basketball company, he should let that day’s game go, adding that he would be there for him.

After describing meetings and arrangements, the witness admitted the “cooperation” ended with him receiving €100,000, which he said was handed to him in a bag, wrapped in napkins.

A “gift” involving Giannakis

The testimony also indicates that the going rate for referees was €5,000. In one case, a named referee allegedly took the money and then offered an extra “gift”: ejecting the opposing coach, who happened to be Giannakis.

The witness said he met one of the game’s two referees at the Intercontinental hotel, where the referee asked for a €5,000 advance and claimed he also controlled the second referee, whom the witness never met. The witness said he had come prepared with cash, went to the restroom to count out exactly €5,000 and handed it over in an envelope. Surprised by how quickly it happened, the referee smiled and promised him a gift at the game two days later.

That gift, according to the witness, involved Giannakis, then coach of Aris, with whom the referee had a poor relationship. The referee ejected him with two technical fouls before halftime, something the witness called extremely rare, especially for a coach of Giannakis’ stature. After the ejection, the referee turned toward the witness and winked. Larissa fans applauded Giannakis as he left the court, recognizing that the penalty was unfair.

“Total control” of referees

According to the witnesses, Liolios had one motive for seeking the EOK presidency: complete control over referees. The businessman said they began planning how Liolios would win the 2020 EOK election, how to win over clubs to vote for him and how to informally recruit referees. He described a steady stream of referees visiting the office of Liolios’ accused associate, and said Liolios was kept informed because, as future federation president, he wanted to control referees so that Promitheas would benefit.

Liolios was often frustrated, however, by the demands of the referees he controlled. When two of them asked to use the spa at Promitheas Park, he reportedly became very angry, saying that it was election season, a single photo could ruin them, and that after all the gifts they had received, the referees could go to a spa on their own.

“Dust” and “dust and shards”

The second witness, an active referee, also told the prosecutor that many games were manipulated. He said the goal was either to make a certain team win or to help a particular player, for example by calling many fouls in his favor to boost his stats, mostly in the case of young athletes.

Asked whether Liolios interfered with KED members, he said that once Liolios took over the EOK, his interference was a given. He also explained a phrase often passed along by Liolios’ associates. “Dust” meant delivering the desired result with few protests, while “dust and shards” meant doing whatever it took, even blatantly, to get the desired result, knowing he would have their full backing.

The referee also recalled a conversation with one of the defendants two years before Liolios’ election, in which the defendant told him to bet his house that Liolios would be the next EOK president. He even suggested placing a bet on it, at odds of 2.25 at the time.

More names under scrutiny

The witness statements name additional referees and basketball officials, who will be examined by the investigating magistrate handling the case. Some are expected to be called as witnesses, while others may be summoned as suspects, depending on how the magistrate assesses the rest of the evidence.

The first of the six people arrested, a referee whose home was found to contain €820,000, is testifying today. According to reports, he denies any involvement in match-fixing and says he has all the documents needed to prove the money was obtained legally. He plans to submit them to the investigating magistrate, who will decide with the prosecutor on his next legal steps.