Owners, coaches charged in match-fixing scandal

Posted Friday, June 24, 2011 by YAHOO Sport

ATHENS (AFP) - Felony charges were issued Thursday against 15 people, including two Greek Super League owners, who authorities say were involved in a massive football match-fixing scandal which has rocked the financially-stripped sport.

Ten of those charged had been arrested Wednesday in a coordinated operation in several parts of Greece.

Among the charges were involvement in criminal activities, fraud, extortion, money laundering, illegal gambling and illegal possession of firearms.

Heading the list of those charged were Super League club owners Achilleas Beos of Olympiakos Volos and Stavros Psomiadis of Kavala and coach of Kavala Giannis Papakostas.

The charges came after a prosecutor's investigation which began in October last year and lasted until January of this year, producing 93,000 pages of case files from 93 suspects.

A numer of players were also summoned for questioning.

Greek judicial authorities began the investigation after a list of 41 suspicious matches were submitted to the country's football federation by European football's ruling body UEFA.

The list included two matches from the Super League and many from the second division.

Two owners from second division clubs, Giorgos Tsakoyiannis of Ilioupoli and Nikos Pantelis of Ethnikos Asteras were also among those charged Thursday.

Also among those charged were two employees of the soccer federation.

Minister of Culture and Tourism Pavlos Geroulanos, who is also in charge of sports, told Parliament Thursday that from May 5 after a meeting he had with Prime Minister George Papandreou, authorities began the search for those guilty and to clean up Greek soccer.

"We want people to return to soccer stadiums, we want stadiums without violence, without fear, without fixed matches. We warned the soccer federation that if there was no cleaning up of Greek soccer, then the next league season would be without state funding, without state-owned stadiums and without state-owned television coverage," Geroulanos said.

Sports undersecretary Giorgos Nikitiadis said the match-fixing scandal "is deep-rooted and is still being investigated."

He stressed that the investigation will reach an end and those responsible will be punished, "no matter what position they hold."

"While the soccer stadiums should have been a place of celebration for families and young people, it has turned into a place of violence and shame for our culture and our country," Nikitiadis said.

Minister of Citizen Protection Christos Papoutsis said the investigations will continue and called on all responsible associations and every citizen to assist the police with information which could shed light on the scandal.