By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Adding to the aftermath of the heated battle with Partizan Mozzart Bet, Panathinaikos owner Dimitris Giannakopoulos made public accusations against the referees in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague.
Giannakopoulos, 48, also compared the competition to a ‘trash can’ in a post shared on Instagram.
“For decades my family and I have been spending personal time, energy and throwing hundreds of millions of dollars in the trash can called Euroleague,” he wrote.
“Also for decades Bertomeou and his system have been treating Panathinaikos, with unfairness and disrespect in all aspects… Both on and off the courts,” he shared his view on the overall behavior of Euroleague Basketball towards the Greens, “The refereeing standard is appalling and rigged.”
“After so many warnings and official complaints, not only there has been nothing done to resolve this issue, things are getting worse every week. I promise that in the same way we brought to light all wrongdoings of financial mismanagement, we will do the same with the “referees system” with roots in the ex-Yugoslav countries! Also Mr. Takis and his suitcases…” concluded the post attached to a hashtag #staytuned.
Similar complaints were expressed by press officer Dimitris Kontos, following the Regular Season Round 6 contest. “Anyone who watched the game understands. Our fans are angry. Panathinaikos will do whatever it takes to face this situation,” he noted talking to Greek pay television Novasports apparently frustrated, “Everyone saw what happened today. I repeat we will do whatever it takes to face this situation. We will remain united.”
Fans in attendance throwing items on the floor interrupted the game for a couple of minutes, late in the fourth quarter.
The loss to Partizan forced his side down to 1-5 and in a tie with FC Bayern Munich at the bottom of the standings.