The Hellenic Football Federation: Α coterie of employees and hangers-on is destroying Greek football with fascist methods

They don’t care about anything! Not even if children will be left on the street, not even if stadiums are left silent; nor even if league play is suspended! It’s as if they’re fighting in a war and are oblivious to civilian losses!

Who? The question you may ask. The answer is Takis Baltakos and Iakovos Filippousis, along with the other outrageous “parachutists” who landed at EPO’s headquarters at the Goudi Park complex, with their only goal being to snatch whatever was left unscathed at the Hellenic Football Federation!

With Yannis Papadopoulos (a close associate of Dimitris Melissanidis) pulling the strings and his…puppets carrying out orders, guided by his motions, wholly ignoring the wishes of governing bodies, such as UEFA and FIFA. And also defiantly ignoring even Greek state’s laws!

Does Baltakos have moral concerns? He demonstrated as much during the ‘Golden Dawn’ case

Who are the only people who ignore the laws of a democratic state: Only fascists! Of course, to be honest, what did we expect from an attorney who had legitimized, with his words and actions, the role of ‘Golden Dawn’ in Greek society? What did we expect from a man who, without a trace of shame, aimed to legitimize this particular «political formation»?

Did we honestly expect that Takis Baltakos would have… moral qualms in dismantling Greek football, in order to simply carry out orders of his «sports boss»? Who? The man whom Golden Dawn leader Nikos Michaloliakos himself was fond of reminding, from Greek Parliament’s benches, of their close and long-term relationship and…their meetings on balconies?

Did we forget these incidents? We’re talking about a man who, while he was still the Cabinet secretary in Antonis Samaras’ government, met secretly with Michaloliakos and Ilias Kasidiaris and «leaked» evidence of a judicial investigation, underway at the time, focusing on the pair’s actions! Do we remember the uproar back in 2014?

15 questions that are begging for 15 answers, which must be provided by UEFA, FIFA and the Greek government

To understand exactly what’s now occurring at EPO, a simple detailing of events and questions is sufficient

– Is it true that Takis Baltakos offensively ignored 12 of the 14 pro football clubs when the former requested that Mark Clattenburg stay on as head referee? Did the EPO president merely fulfill the desire of Dimitris Melissanidis, given that AEK Athens was one of the two teams that had requested the replacement of the English head referee? Yes or No?

– Did Takis Baltakos insult the intelligence of sports fans when he decided that Clattenburg’s… assistant should take his place? Yes or No? How much nonsense did the EPO president have to serve to the Greek fans, telling them that Clattenburg was now the corrupted one, yet his…right-hand man, Steve Bennett, was not? Did he think he was addressing sheep? Only Dimitris Melissanidis and the … cheerleader, Achilleas Beos, showed that they share his point of view!

– Have or haven’t all the Super League teams decided to have ALL league derbies officiated by foreign referees? Was Takis Baltakos playing shadow theater for four days by declaring that he was unaware of the appointment of referee Sidiropoulos to officiate the game between Panathinaikos and AEK? Also, how is it possible that he retained Bennett in a position…after supposedly ignoring him and supposedly not even informing him of the change? Obviously, we’re referring to a man who hasn’t the slightest misgiving of being publicly exposed (in other words, appearing as a … tin man in the realm of public opinion) as long as he faithfully carries out the orders assigned to him.

• Did Takis Baltakos investigate the complaints made by the Piraeus Football Clubs’ Association over the relationship between Bennett and Lampadariou? If he did and the complaints turned out to be unsubstantiated, then why did he not insist, at EPO’s general assembly, on the expulsion of this Association from EPO’s register? Why didn’t he make good on his unprecedented threat?

• Does Takis Baltakos accept a subordinate of his (such as Bennett) insulting Super League club owners? Because the English head referee’s answer of «…come and meet me at EPO’s offices» can only be interpreted as an insult to the officials of the top league, when he’s called upon to detail his plan for officiating and the appointment of referees for specific League matches.

• Is it true that the EPO payroll is the most «inflated» ever, with salaries that, if they become known, will cause an uproar in Greek society? Yes or No? Is it true that despite the dozens of employees who have been hired, when Vangelis Marinakis visited Goudi Park he only met up with only a…handful of employees?

• Is it true that Baltakos and Co. are preparing to place Psaropoulos’ daughter (who maintains a close relationship with Yannis Papadopoulos) in the position of deputy CEO of the Federation? Yes or No? Is it true that Ms. Myrsini Psaropoulos’ title is… a gymnast from Romania? Yes or No?

• Is it true that Takis Baltakos and his associates are downgrading the Holistic Study, on a daily basis, with their decisions? Yes or No?

• Is it a lie that on Feb. 22, 2022 a letter from FIFA and UEFA was received, specifying that the election of the EPO CEO must be derived from an international competition? Is it true that there was also a decision of the Arbitration Court (decision 95/22) clarifying that the opinion of international federations is binding? Yes or No?

• Is it true that the unbelievable Ms. Bitzouni (who…adjudicated on the legality of the election of Iakovos Filippousis as CEO) did not have the slightest authority for issuing this particular opinion? Yes or No?

• Is it true that Takis Baltakos again shamelessly mocked the professional football world, claiming he would contact UEFA and FIFA in order to confirm the proper manner for electing the Federation’s CEO? Who did he contact? What did they tell him? And why did he portray Bizouni as the…puppet who would “pull the rabbit out of the hat”?

• Is it true that Baltakos and Bizouni decided, in a fascist manner, to replace the Council of State and even the Constitutional Court? And what did they say? Essentially what a typical fascist would say: LAWS SHOULD NOT APPLY!

• Is the…ridiculous reasoning, as reported by the Greek press, by which Ms. Bizouni claimed that the biggest obstacle in hiring a foreign CEO is the excuse that «there can’t be an international competition because a foreign CEO won’t be able to communicate with EPO staff, because they won’t understand him!» Honestly, can such a claim be true, something that you don’t even find in second-rate movie comedies?

• Is it true that, with the personal intervention of the EPO president, announcements issued by Olympiacos are immediately dispatched for disciplinary review to the relevant sports prosecutor, while those of AEK remain… sealed in his drawer? Yes or No?

• And finally, the most important question of all: Is it true that Baltakos, Filippousis and Co. have been acting in recent weeks with one and only goal in mind, namely, to force Vangelis Marinakis to abandon the institutional effort at rescuing Greek football? Yes or No?

All of the above is a mere chronicling of the grim situation that now engulfs EPO, and threatens Greek football with a complete dissolution. And the worst thing is that so far this collapse is taking place with the tacit tolerance of the Greek government and the prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Have they realized the magnitude of their responsibility towards Greek fans, towards Greek citizens?