Daily Archives: March 28, 2015

The Greek soccer federation on Friday insisted that international defender Jose Holebas had been dropped from team training in Austria because of injury and not for any other reason.

Media reports out of Italy said that the 30-year-old player had trained normally with his Roma squad after departing from Austria on Tuesday.

“On Monday Jose underwent a radiographic examination of which it was diagnosed that he was suffering from a left rib case injury. The player trained in Austria under an individual program but was not fit to be available to play against Hungary,» the federation said in an announcement.

The federation added that reports out of Italy cited by the Greek media «lead to completely erroneous conclusions in regard to the willingness of the player to contribute to his commitments with the national team.”

“The national team has full confidence in Jose Holebas whom we wish a speedy recovery,» the statement concluded.

Greece coach Sergio Markarian called-up Levante UD defender Loukas Vyntra to replace Holebas for the crucial UEFA Euro 2016 qualifier on Sunday in Budapest against Hungary.

Also on the injured list and not making the journey to Austria for training were Olympiakos striker Costas Mitroglou, Al-Hilal forward Giorgos Samaras, Olympiakos defender Yiannis Maniatis and AEK midfielder Petros Mantalos.

Greece is bottom of the group with just one point in four matches. Romania heads the table with ten points followed by Northern Ireland (9), Hungary (7), Finland (4) and Faroe Islands (3).

source:ekathimerini.com

The British Museum has turned down a request by Greek authorities for a process of mediation, facilitated by Unesco, on the subject of the Parthenon Marbles that are currently on display in London.

A letter signed by Sir Richard Lambert, chairman of the museum’s board of trustees, that was posted on the website of the institution said that the British Museum is not a government body hence there was no role for an intergovernmental agency like Unesco.

“The Trustees of the British Museum hold [the collections] not only for the British people, but for the benefit of the world public, present and future,” it added.

The letter sparked a reaction from the Greek government. In a statement, Culture Minister Nikos Xydakis criticized the British officials’ “unwillingness to cooperate.”

“We are surprised at the ongoing effort to downgrade an interstate issue to an issue between museums,” he said, adding that the Greek government would continue its bid to repatriate the sculptures.

Greece has unsuccessfully campaigned for the return of the ancient sculptures that were removed from the citadel by Lord Elgin in the early 1800s.

source:ekathimerini.com

Greek Deputy Prime Minister Yiannis Dragasakis (left) shakes hands with Chinese Vice Premier Ma Kai, in Beijing, on Friday.

Deputy Prime Minister Yiannis Dragasakis continued his visit to China on Friday by holding talks with Vice Premier Ma Kai in Beijing, where both men pledged to strengthen ties between the two countries. During the two-hour meeting, the pair reaffirmed the commitment of Greece and China to draw up a three-year plan of action regarding their relations. Dragasakis said the government wants to use the progress made so far to “deepen and grow” ties with China. Ma told Dragasakis that China is ready to expand bilateral exchanges and cooperation in line with the principle of mutual respect, trust and benefit, according to the Xinhua news agency. Dragasakis also assured Beijing that the tender of a 67.7 percent stake in the Piraeus Port Authority (OLP), for which Cosco is in the driving seat, would go ahead in the next few days. Dragasakis said he is sure Cosco will submit a “very competitive” offer for OLP. It also emerged on Friday that Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias has been invited to Washington for talks on April 22. It is thought that Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras may follow with a trip to the USA later this year. The Republican senator who had blocked the annual Senate resolution marking Greek Independence Day due to his objections to comments by Defense Minister Panos Kammenos relented on Friday. Senator Dan Coats suggested via Twitter that he had been contacted by Greece’s ambassador to the US, Christos Panagopoulos, who assured him that Kammenos’s comment regarding allowing undocumented migrants into other parts of Europe was not official government policy. source:ekathimerini.com