Forest owner’s Olympic sponsorship sparks row in Greece

A key Olympic sponsorship by Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis has sparked a row in Greece, where the tycoon is on trial in a hooligan violence case.

The Hellenic Olympic Committee has hit out at criticism of the sponsorship of the historic Panathenaic  Stadium, site of the first modern Games in 1896, as “petty” politics that “undermines” its work.

“The Hellenic Olympic Committee is saddened and dismayed by certain isolated comments concerning the particularly significant and invaluable sponsorship for the renovation of the Panathenaic Stadium by Capital Maritime & Trading Corp., owned by Mr. Evangelos Marinakis,” the HOC said in a statement Tuesday.

The HOC on December 15 said Capital Maritime had agreed to completely renovate the stadium, last reconstructed in the 19th century, so it can host international track and field competitions at Diamond League level

It said Marinakis, who also owns Greek football giants Olympiacos, is “someone who loves sport and supports it in tangible ways without seeking reciprocal benefits.”

Marinakis has close family ties to HOC President Isidoros Kouvelos, and was best man at his wedding to former Athens mayor Dora Bakoyannis, the sister of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

Last month, Marinakis was among dozens of defendants put on trial over the killing of a Greek riot police officer by alleged Olympiacos hooligans in 2023.

He has denied wrongdoing.

Olympiacos have hit out at the prosecution as “unjust collective targeting of our fans” and “fuelled by specific political and business interests”.