By Paul Nicholson
January 30 – Greek football is in chaos and the crisis in the top professional tiers is not showing any signs of improvement. This is despite a FIFA normalisation committee led by Portuguese Vitor Melo Pereira and the parachuting in last week of UEFA director of national associations Zoran Laković. Rather than finding solutions, his trip in fact just rubber stamped the ‘new’ status quo.
The result has been another week of recrimination and accusations aimed at referee appointments in the Greek Super League, and yet more allegations of rampant betting related matchfixing in the second tier Football League.
It is a familiar story and depending on who you talk, the situation is worsening.
Club confidence in referees is at an all time low and trust in FIFA and UEFA’s ability to find an equitable solution is evaporating. Where radical solutions are required to win back control and respect for the administration of the game, instead FIFA and UEFA have supported a new regime with allegiances to leading clubs AEK and PAOK, allegiances their rivals say are distorting Greek football in their favour.
A fact triumphantly paraded by club owners like Ivan Savvidis (PAOK) who said in a TV interview to ERT that Hellenic Football Federation president Vangelos Grammenos is “ours” (see clip).
It is the ‘us’ and ‘them’ culture that has so deeply divided Greek football. Divisions that are too deep and wide to paper over with platitudes.
Olympiakos has called for foreign referees to be flown in for key matches, such is the depth of distrust. It is a call other clubs have been picking up but Pereira has stuck firmly behind the decision making of Alexis Dedes, ex-CEO of AEK who resigned to take a position on normalistation committee, and was then appointed HFF General Secretary, and Michael Koukoulakis, a former international referee who joined the normalisation committee and was given oversight of referees and their appointments.
Two open letters aimed at the HFF and their referees appointments took a different tone but had the same theme. While congratulating their winning opponents Atromitos of Athens, AE Larissa FC also cynically congratulated “today’s match first referee Mr. Melissanidis, from the association of Phthiotis, and wishes that he always achieves such fair and correct performances.
“Bravo and may we admire you on much higher occasions, like the Champions League final and the World Cup final.”
Panionios’ open letter was more despairing.
“Dear refereeing officials, we are tired of watching the same show again and again. On every match day, whether at home or away, we have the same treatment from the referees. We had received the signals from the last