Daily Archives: November 17, 2014

The mafia-like attack on the Alternate President of the Central Refereeing Committee (KED), Christoforos Zografos on Thursday night, and everything that followed with the knee-jerk reaction by the Hellenic Football Federation (EPO) to decide the suspension of all league action indefinitely, along with the accusations by Olympiakos president Vangelis Marinakis and by Dimitris Melissanidis, highlight and confirm the extent of rot in Greek soccer.

Everything that was said on Friday points clearly to the clash of strong and well-organized interests, that is taking place on the field of soccer and tends to spiral out of control.

AEK Athens strongman Melissanidis responded to the accusations by Marinakis – that Melissanidis demanded Zografos and EPO head Giorgos Sarris to appoint specific referees to the second-division match between Panachaiki and AEK – saying that “the people who have been summoned for some time now to answer to Justice and the prosecutors in the context of the investigation into the existence of a criminal organization in soccer, those who are accused of blackmailing, bribing, beatings and explosions, and who have ignored any value of healthy competition by undermining soccer in our country, have the cheek to speak about morality, values and progress.”

Panathinaikos, which plays a leading role in the highlighting of corruption instances in soccer, has expressed its position saying: “We unequivocally condemn [Thursday’s] deplorable occurrence, which people under investigation by Justice cannot hijack. We are blaming the government for its criminal tolerance of the growing rot in soccer all these years. This tolerance, as we have already stated, now entails guilt. We are also calling on Justice to accelerate its work and avert the upcoming statute of limitations for felonies.”

For its part, the federation rushed hastily to make that spectacular decision for the indefinite suspension of all leagues, following its typical tactics of burying its collective head in the sand. It has failed to order an investigation to determine the actual facts after one of its members was attacked due to his competences.

The federation has also failed to refute what Marinakis claimed at the board meeting of the Super League, i.e. that Sarris and Zografos have been at the receiving end of pressures and threats intended to have specific referees appointed. On the contrary, Sarris unashamedly put the blame for the attack on Zografos on the press!

Yet what is most important is that the EPO president and its administration have incited the intervention of Justice and have already been summoned to testify as suspects about the case concerning the existence of a criminal organization in soccer. The EPO management is also facing criminal charges on the “healthcare card”, according to Article 391 of the Penal Code, and its members have been summoned as suspects for the case of the fake social security and tax clearance documents.

Against all these phenomena of complete rot and corruption, the government has chosen to play the role of the passive viewer, showing a characteristic indifference. Furthermore, part of the Justice system is clearly stalling on cases of criminal character, such as the scandal of match-fixing, running the risk of the statute of limitations.

source: ekathimerini.com

Scott Jamieson of the Glory scores a goal from a free kick during the match between Perth Glory and Western Sydney Wanderers at NIB Stadium on Saturday. Source: Getty Images

IT’S not a sight any football fan ­expected to see six weeks into the season — Asian champions and successive A-League grand finalists Western Sydney are bottom of the table without a point. 

 Even allowing for their recent murderous travelling and playing schedule, the Wanderers are a club that has shown in their short 2½-year history they are capable of rising above hurdles.

Yet coach Tony Popovic’s men are now in uncharted waters, a 2-1 loss to Perth Glory at NIB Stadium on Saturday night consigning them to a fourth straight defeat and leaving the Sydneysiders 15 points behind the top-of-the-table Glory.

It’s not all doom and gloom, though. With two games in hand and a stretch of four straight games — three in the next seven days — at home, the Wanderers are more than capable of turning it around.

Popovic made no apologies for going with a weakened, largely inexperienced side against a Glory side setting the pace this season.

In a bid to ease the heavy burden on his players, Popovic made eight changes to the side that was beaten by Wellington last week.

In the process, he fielded an XI that included Alusine Fofanah (16), Daniel Alessi (17) and Joshua ­Sotiro (19).

“There isn’t much you can do,” Popovic said. “I have to be mindful of the load on the players.

“You have to understand we had a number of players last week (against Wellington) who were playing their first games since May and June and we had a lot of players who were fatigued from all the travelling.

“We’ve got three games in seven days so we had to juggle it around a bit and a lot of young boys got a chance tonight and they did very well.

“There were many reasons but in no way are they excuses,” he added.

“Last week we had many players and it was their first game since May or June and we had a lot of fatigued players from the trip to Wellington as well.

“The chances we had could have changed the game. Even at 0-0, we had a couple of fantastic opportunities. We didn’t take them.

“The good thing is the boys didn’t give up so I can’t be dis­appointed about the effort, but in the end we fell short.”

Popovic is expected to make wholesale changes for Wednesday’s catch-up game against Central Coast at Pirtek Stadium with goalkeeper Ante Covic, defender Matthew Spiranovic, Iacopo La Rocca, Seyi Adeleke, Romeo Castelen and Tomi Juric all expected to play in what is looming as a ­crucial game.

Glory coach Kenny Lowe was trying to put a lid on the fanfare over the club’s rise to the top ­following several disappointing seasons.

“I am happy to be where we are, but one part of me says let’s not get carried away after six or seven games,” Lowe said. “The season is 27 games, plus finals.

“The guys in that dressing room deserve all the plaudits they are getting at the moment. They have worked really hard and they have a certain mindset and they want to carry that through.

“You saw that in the last 15 minutes tonight when we were very tired after our heavy schedule. The guys just dug deep and weren’t going to give the game away.”

source: theaustralian.com.au