The detention of 6 people, including Greek Basketball Federation President Vangelis Liolios and Europa League referee Vasiliki Tsaroucha, on match-fixing and bribery charges shook the country's basketball deeply.
Following the investigation launched in April, a major scandal emerged in Greek basketball.
According to reports in the Greek press, the Athens prosecutor's office found evidence of match-fixing and illegal betting in matches including the first league.
Greek Basketball Federation President Vangelis Liolios and 6 people, including referees, were detained on charges of match-fixing and bribery. Among the detained referees is Vasiliki Tsaroucha, who previously refereed the matches of Turkish teams in the Europa League and BKT European Cup.
50 matches are being investigated on suspicion of match-fixing
According to the news in the country's press, two informants gave critical clues about the scandal in Greek basketball.
The two people in question, who had received bribes, applied to the Greek authorities and stated that they wanted to testify in exchange for amnesty under the status of protected witnesses. Although the statements of 9 witnesses were taken in total, the stories of these two people were deemed particularly important by the sports prosecutor. In addition, 820 thousand euros, the source of which was not disclosed, was found in the house of one of the detained referees, and 102 thousand euros were found in the house of another referee.
Approximately 50 matches in Greek leagues between 2016 and 2026 are being examined on suspicion of match-fixing, and it is stated that two of them are matches in the top league. Among the matches in question is a final match between the youth teams of Greek schools.
Harsh statement from Panathinaikos front
Panathinaikos Basketball Club made a harsh statement following match-fixing and bribery operations in Greece.
In the statement, it was emphasized that the referees assigned to the matches were appointed by "certain people" and said, "We will take legal action to regain what was taken from us by a dirty order. The club continues to play in matches directed by referees who have been investigated for serious crimes, who are said to keep hundreds of thousands of euros in cash at home, and referees who do not respect the sport. We continue to stay and fight in a rotten system that has literally polluted the thing we love most, basketball." The statement was included.
Ergin Ataman's reactions to Greek referees
While Ergin Ataman was coaching Panathinaikos, he reacted to the referee management after the matches played against Olympiacos in the Greek Basketball League.
Criticizing the referee's decisions, Ataman said, "Is the score 82-76? No, 29-5. Olympiacos used 29 free throws, including the critical ones in the last 2 minutes, but we could only use 5. Greek media and Serbian media keep writing the same things. Ataman is the worst coach in Europe, you have the best referees. Congratulations." He used the following expressions:
Regarding the fouls called against his team after another match, Ataman said, "The tragicomic part is that the foul was called against Sloukas and the opponent came to the line for two free throws. And yes, this is not a joke. We also witnessed the invention of a new sport on the basketball court, Greco-Roman wrestling. A first in world history." He expressed his opinion as follows:
The experienced head coach said in a statement after another Olympiacos game: "Tyrique Jones came to our dressing room and hit Kendrick Nunn. Nunn is injured now. How can something like this happen? This is not fair, what is happening in Greek basketball is not fair. Let us play basketball." he said.
