In the latest ‘episode’ of the Greek Basket League finals between archrivals Panathinaikos BC and Olympiacos BC (tied at 1-1), it appears the series is headed toward a permanent suspension despite efforts by Deputy Minister of Sports Yiannis Vroutsis to bring the owners together in a meeting on Wednesday to tone down the vitriolic rhetoric and actions following Sunday’s second game at Piraeus.
While the owner of Panathinaikos BC, Dimitris Giannakopoulos, accepted the invitation, as Vroutsis revealed in interviews on Greek TV and radio on Tuesday, the owners of Olympiacos BC, Panagiotis and Giorgos Angelopoulos, reportedly at this stage refuse to sit at the same table with Giannakopoulos.
After reiterating his invitation to the owners, the Deputy Minister of Sports went on to warn both sides that if they failed to show up the championship would be permanently suspended, an outcome that is becoming more likely following the stance of Olympiacos.
Referring to the scenes of disgrace during the second final, Vroutsis emphasized that he had personally invited the club owners. “I’m not asking them to resolve their legal or personal disputes. The aim is to send a strong message against violence and toxicity and to ensure a joint commitment to a championship played under the principles of fair play,” he said.
“On Monday morning, the entire country woke up disgusted. All of Greece was appalled,” Vroutsis said. “The irony is that during a match between two of the best teams in Europe, with a fully packed arena, we witnessed disgraceful incidents on the court. This is unacceptable to the government. We are obligated to respond—and we did. The first step was to suspend the game, which we followed through on,” he stated.
Vroutsis added, “On Wednesday at 3:00 p.m., I had personally invited the owners, the Angelopoulos brothers, and Mr. Giannakopoulos, to my office. What is the purpose? Not to sit at the same table to resolve their personal matters—those will be settled in court. The goal is to send a strong, united message against violence and toxicity.”
The owners of the two teams were embroiled in an acrimonious back-and-forth after Sunday night’s 2nd game in the Greek basketball league’s best-of-5 series, which led to the two sides filing reciprocal lawsuits.
Before Sunday’s game, Giannakopoulos was caught on camera making obscene hand gestures to a group of Olympiacos fans, which led to tensions flaring up at the SEF stadium in Piraeus. The Green’s owners justified his action by claiming he was provoked by sexist chants implicating his daughter, accusing the Olympiacos ownership and the referees of failing to intervene.
