Marinakis forest owner accused of fixing matches in Greece by defendant in British defamation suit

Author: Sam Tobin

Marinakis forest owner accused of fixing matches in Greece by defendant in British libel trial — Marinakis forest owner accused of fixing matches in Greece by defendant in British defamation trial

LONDON, – Evangelos Marinakis, the Greek shipping magnate and owner of English Premier League soccer club Nottingham Forest, was charged Thursday with trying to fix a Greek soccer match as part of a London libel lawsuit he is filing over an alleged smear campaign in Britain.

Marinakis brought a defamation case before the London High Court this year against Irini Karipidis, president of Greek Super League club Aris Thessaloniki.

He maintains that Karipidis was behind a website that included allegations that Marinakis was involved in match-fixing, drug smuggling and transporting Russian oil in violation of sanctions, which he vehemently denies.

Marinakis’ lawyers say the campaign involved placing a mobile billboard around Nottingham Forest’s stadium ahead of two matches in 2023 and directing people to the website.

Karipidis, however, says he has a “clear truth defense” in the defamation suit. She asked the court to revoke the permission granted in May to serve her lawsuit outside England.

Her lawyer Matthew Hodson stated in court documents that Marinakis launched a campaign against Karipidis after her brother Theodoros refused to fix a match between Aris and Olympiakos, which Marinakis owns, in 2023.

Hodson claimed in the document that during the match, which ended 2-2, Marinakis “was so furious that, according to him, he threatened that Theodoros ‘would not leave the field alive’ if Olympiakos lost.”

Marinakis’ lawyer, David Sherborne, said in court documents that the allegation was made in public only for the purpose of generating unfavorable publicity.

He argued that Karipidis’ request to withdraw permission to serve her case was a “transparent attempt to continue the campaign” against Marinakis.

Ari Harow, a former adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyah, is also a defendant, and Marinakis accuses Harow of facilitating payments to support an alleged smear campaign.

His lawyer, Ali Sinai, said in court documents that the case against Harow should also be dismissed.

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