Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis charged with match-fixing offences in Greece

• Panel of judges order him to stand down as chairman of Olympiakos
• Marinakis delares his innocence and insists he will be cleared

The Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis has been charged with criminal match-fixing offences in Greece and ordered by a panel of judges to stand down as chairman of the Athens club Olympiakos. Marinakis, a shipowner, took over at Forest in May while the long-running investigation into alleged corruption and match-fixing in Greek football was still proceeding. He has been charged with match-fixing along with 27 other people, who include shareholders and officials in several Greek clubs as well as ex-referees and officials of the Greek football association.

Marinakis was ordered to stand down as Olympiakos chairman by 23 November but the charges are unlikely to affect his freedom to continue his ownership and running of Forest. The Football League’s rules requiring owners and directors to be “fit and proper” people, which are under review, currently bar a person who has been convicted of a criminal offence involving dishonesty. Somebody under criminal investigation, or subject to criminal charges or prosecution, remains free to own a club and is considered fit and proper until conviction.

Continue reading...