The six people implicated in the case involving fixed basketball matches appeared today at the courts at the former Evelpidon military academy. All six defendants asked for and were granted extensions to prepare their statements.
Former referee Petros Papapetrou was given until tomorrow at noon to give his statement. The president of the Hellenic Basketball Federation (EOK), Vangelis Liolios, and his close associate George Mavraganis were given until Sunday, while referee Vaso Tsaroucha, special adviser on refereeing Ilias Koromilas and Central Refereeing Committee member Tasos Piloidis were given until Monday.
According to reports, Vangelis Liolios denies the charges, saying he has no connection to the allegations against him. He is also said to be taking aim at the people whose testimony partly formed the basis for the criminal charges against him.
Legal complaints and evidence in the case file
Sources close to the federation’s president say Mr Liolios has, since 2022, filed complaints against four people said to be connected with the sport, accusing them of a range of serious criminal offences. One of them is among the two witnesses who reportedly spoke to the judicial authorities, providing crucial evidence.
As for the SMS messages apparently included in the case file to support the allegation of attempted bribery, the same sources say there is only one message involving Evangelos Liolios, in which he is said to inform someone of the names of the referees selected by draw. However, according to the defendant’s circle, the message proves nothing, since the referees’ names would have been made public within the next two or three days.
Defendant and referee Petros Papapetrou is also said to deny the charges, maintaining that he has the necessary documents to fully account for the €820,000 reportedly found at his home.
Statements from defence lawyers
Vangelis Liolios’s lawyer, Panagiotis Papaioannou, described the case as a badly contrived conspiracy against the EOK president.
“You know full well that I am a man who weighs his words, does not exaggerate and does not distort the truth. It will become clear just how badly contrived a conspiracy this is. Everyone making allegations has themselves been reported by Liolios so that they can be investigated. Their cases are ongoing. Look into why a witness, a referee whose career stalled and three people sued by him came to accuse a well-known man, and why an entirely invalid arrest warrant was issued. He had said he wanted to change Greek basketball, and now he is paying the price. Some people organised themselves and fabricated this case against him. There is no complaint that could lead to a conviction,” he said.
The lawyer for referee Piloidis, Nikos Galanis, said “my client categorically asserts his innocence and denies any involvement in a case involving bribery and betting in basketball. It is a shame to see basketball tarnished, though I do not believe that is the case.” “None of those arrested was called in to give a preliminary statement. I believe it was a legal misstep to issue arrest warrants before the justice system had heard them,” Mr Galanis added.
Angelos Peponis, who represents referees Vaso Tsaroucha and Ilias Koromilas, said “both categorically deny the charge” and added: “Even before seeing the case file, what I can say is that the ugly side of sport lies in conflicting interests and competition. The question is whether this case file is based on actual evidence or whether the material consists merely of accounts and narratives, with nothing substantial, stemming from the pursuit of financial interests that we all know goes on behind sport.”