UEFA | |
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Short name | HFF |
Founded | 14 November 1926 |
Headquarters | Athens |
FIFA affiliation | 1927 |
UEFA affiliation | 1954 |
President | Chrysostomos Gkagkatsis |
Website | epo.gr |
The Greek Football Federation (GFF), (Greek : Ελληνική Ποδοσφαιρική Ομοσπονδία; ΕΠΟ, romanized: Ellinikí Podosferikí Omospondía; EPO), is the governing body of football in Greece. It contributes in the organisation of Super League Greece 2. It is also responsible for the organization of the Greek Cup, Gamma Ethniki (3rd ranked men's football championship in Greece) and the Greece national team.
The Hellenic Football Federation (HFF) was founded on 14 November 1926 by a decision of the three major Unions of the country: Athens, Piraeus and Thessaloniki. Its foundation marked the organization of Greek football in compliance with international standards. Since then, the HFF has grown into the biggest sports federation in Greece, as football in the country is regarded as the "king of sports" [1] coming first in the preferences of sports fans.
The HFF is considered a private legal entity and a non-profit organization with registered offices in Athens. It is the only exclusively qualified body [1] in Greece to represent the interests of Greek football and prohibits any political, religious or racial discrimination.
In 1927, the HFF became a member of FIFA [1] and in 1954 became one of the first members of UEFA. Amongst its obligations as member of international sports bodies, the HFF accepts the statutes, regulations, directives and decisions issued by FIFA and UEFA. The HFF also has to ensure that they are accepted by all individuals and clubs in Greek football.
On 3 July 2006, FIFA ruled the HFF was failing to adhere to the principles of the FIFA statutes regarding FIFA's political independence. Accordingly, the HFF was indefinitely suspended from international football. In response, Greek officials proposed a change in FIFA's law. However, FIFA ruled it too constituted an interference of the government in matters that should be under the football federation's jurisdiction. As such, FIFA concluded Greece would not be able to meet its 15 July 2006 deadline and should therefore be suspended until further notice. The suspension would have meant Greek clubs would not be allowed to participate in international competitions, and that the Greece national team would not be able to participate in international matches. [2] [3] There were also doubts cast over whether the 2007 UEFA Champions League Final will be played at Athens' Olympic Stadium as previously scheduled. [4]
However, on 7 July 2006, the Greek government ratified a new version of the sports law, [5] granting the HFF independence and therefore adherence to FIFA's laws. FIFA announced the lifting of its ban that day, judging that the amendments adhered to FIFA and UEFA statutes. This allowed Greece to participate in UEFA Euro 2008 and also allowed Greek clubs to participate in European competitions.
On 11 December 2008, HFF president Vassilis Gagatsis resigned from his position after an eight-year tenure. [6] New elections were held on 17 January 2009, making Giorgos Sarris the new president. However, Sarris' election was controversial, with reports claiming the election was not fair and that Olympiacos owner Evangelos Marinakis had allegedly using his power to help appoint Sarris. [7]
In April 2013, the HFF announced its new partnership with Nike, which also became the official supplier of clothes and equipment for the Greece national team. On the eve of the announcement, Giorgos Sarris praised the new partnership [8] hoping that "it will contribute to the overall advancement of domestic football".
The HFF has organised major football events multiple times. Here is a list of all European competition finals held in Greece.
The structure of the HFF is pyramid shaped. It is based on 2,000,000 football players and 5,773 football clubs, 3,700 from which are actively participating in official competitions of every kind, which take place throughout the country, covering all ages. The clubs come under the 53 Regional Unions of Football Clubs. The professional competitions are being organized by the Professional League (Greek League). The HFF is the supreme football authority, the one that all the clubs and professional teams come under and forms the top of the pyramid.
The General Assembly, convening once a year, is actually the HFF parliament. It is the Assembly that, according to the Statutes, decides on everything about Greek football. They can change the Statutes and the regulations of the Federation, enforce new ones, audit the financial review for the previous fiscal year and the budget for the year to come, vote (every four years) and monitor the Administration's work.
The divisions of H.F.F. are: The Sporting Division, the Management Division, the Finance and Marketing Division, the International Relations Division, and the Press and Mass Media Division.
The operation of H.F.F. relies on the above-mentioned divisions that function on the responsibility of their respective managers, as much as, the Committees of the Executive Board, which, according to the Statutes of the Federation, are the following:
The H.F.F. is responsible for doping control in all the Greek championships. [ citation needed ]
Below are the presidents of GFF: [9]
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The incident first came to light after UEFA issued a report, [10] which drew attention to 40 matches that were rigged in Greek football in the 2009–10 season. [11] The initial probe into the incident involved approximately 80 individuals suspected of wrongdoing. Olympiacos owner Evangelos Marinakis was also accused [12] of using his position in Greek football and special relationship with the president of the HFF, to appoint favorable referees to matches. [13] [14] Marinakis was later acquitted from all charges by the Prosecutor [15] and the Council of Judges [16] and the decision is final. [17]
In February 2012, the Superleague Greece, with the agreement of the HFF, replaced the two football prosecutors (Fakos and Antonakakis) with two others (Petropoulos and Karras). [18]
The 2015 Greek football scandal emerged on 6 April 2015 when prosecutor Aristidis Korreas' 173-page work was revealed. Telephone tapping operated by the National Intelligence Service of Greece since 2011 has played a significant role in the case. [19] According to the prosecutor's conclusion, Olympiacos owner Evangelos Marinakis along with HFF members Theodoros Kouridis and Georgios Sarris, were suspected of directing a criminal organization since 2011. The goal behind their scheme was allegedly to "absolutely control Greek football's fate by the methods of blackmailing and fraud", [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] exploiting the self-governing ("autonomy") status of national football federations promoted by FIFA and UEFA. In 2016, a temporary administration was placed by FIFA. On 28 December 2017 a new president was elected Evangelos Grammenos with the support of Savvidis and Melissanidis. [26] [27]
On 28 January 2021, the three-member Criminal Court of Appeals acquitted the leader of Olympiacos, Vangelis Marinakis, of all the charges against him in the trial of 28. The same happened with all the defendants in the case. [28] [29] After a thorough analysis of all the elements of the investigation, from the testimony of the witnesses (and the contradictions they encountered) and from the rejection of the pre-investigation conclusion by the lawyers of the accused, the court decided to reject all the accusations. A case that lasted almost six years and occupied Greek football, tarnishing reputations, has now been closed definitively and irrevocably. [30]
The HFF has also been subject to allegations of other crimes, including blackmail and tax evasion. In November 2013, a team of prosecutors raided the headquarters of the HFF to find evidence of illegal activity. [31] [32] There have been allegations some of the teams have failed to pay their taxes by submitting fake documents.
Since 2015, the HFF has also been under judicial investigation regarding the existence of a "pyramid's economic scheme" in the Greek referees' society. [33] [34] [35]
Giorgos Girzikis, ex-president of the HFF, is also under penal prosecution for three felony economic crimes. [36] [37]
In March 2019, the ex-presidents of HFF, Vasilis Gagatsis, Sofoklis Pilavios and Giorgos Girtzikis were found guilty by the Greek courts for economic crimes. [38]
PAOK FC, commonly known as PAOK Thessaloniki, PAOK Salonika or simply PAOK, is a Greek professional football club based in Thessaloniki, Macedonia, Greece. PAOK are one of the top domestic clubs, the most widely supported in Northern Greece and the current Greek Super League champions.
Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number of different competitive departments which participate in football, basketball, volleyball, water polo, handball, athletics, swimming, table tennis and boxing amongst many others—and have won numerous European and domestic titles over the club's history.
Panathinaikos Football Club, known as Panathinaikos, or by its full name, and the name of its parent sports club, Panathinaikos A.O. or PAO, is a Greek professional football club based in Athens, Greece.
Olympiacos F.C., known simply as Olympiacos or Olympiacos Piraeus, is a Greek professional football club based in Piraeus. Part of the major multi-sport club Olympiacos CFP, their name was inspired from the ancient Olympic Games and along with the club's emblem, the laurel-crowned Olympic athlete, symbolize the Olympic ideals of ancient Greece. Their home ground is the Karaiskakis Stadium, a 33,335-capacity stadium in Piraeus.
The Super League Greece 1, or Stoiximan Super League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest professional association football league in Greece. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and replaced Alpha Ethniki at the top of the Greek football league system. The members of the cooperative are the Football Limited Companies (P.A.E.) that have the right to participate in the Super League 1 championship. The president of Super League 1 is Vangelis Marinakis, who has been re-elected for the third time.
Nikolaos "Nikos" Georgeas is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a right-back. He is the current administrative director of AEK Athens Academy.
Olympiacos Men's Waterpolo, commonly referred to as Olympiacos, Olympiacos Piraeus or with its full name as Olympiacos CFP, is the professional men's water polo department of the major Greek multi-sport club, Olympiacos CFP, based in Piraeus, Greece. The department was founded in 1925, one of the founding members of the Hellenic Swimming Federation, and their home ground is the Papastrateio Pool in Piraeus.
Dimitris "Takis" Nikoloudis is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a midfielder and a former manager.
Koriopolis is the name given by the Greek press to a match fixing scandal in Greek football that came to light in June 2011. With the help of UEFA and the Greek National Intelligence Service, the judicial authorities initially identified 83 suspects, which subsequently increased to 187, including football officials, referees, players and police officers, who were banned from leaving the country.
Evangelos "Vangelis" Marinakis, born 30 July 1967) is a Greek businessman and investor, the principal shareholder of a number of companies operating in the shipping, media and football sectors. Marinakis is the son of shipowner and politician Miltiadis Marinakis from Crete. He entered the Greek shipping industry in 2005 by founding "Capital Maritime & Trading Corp". In 2010, he acquired a majority stake in the Greek football team Olympiacos and became its president. In 2014, he was elected as a municipal councillor of Piraeus with the "Πειραιάς Νικητής" party and was re-elected in 2019. In 2017, he purchased English football team of Nottingham Forest F.C.. In 2016, he entered the Greek media sector with Alter Ego Media S.A., which acquired Lambrakis Press Group (DOL) in 2017.
The 2014–15 season was Olympiacos's 56th consecutive season in the Super League Greece and their 89th year in existence. Olympiacos also participated in the Greek Cup.
The 2014–15 season was AEL Kalloni's second season in the Super League Greece, the top flight of Greek football. They also participated in the Greek Cup, where they were eliminated in the second round.
In season 2014–15, Veria will compete in the following competitions Super League and Greek Cup.
The 2015 Greek football scandal was a sports scandal in Greece’s top professional association football league that involved numerous executives from different clubs and from Greek Football Association and referees. The scandal emerged in 2014 when prosecutor Aristidis Korreas' 173-page work was revealed. The prosecutor’s report was mainly based on telephone tappings, operated by the National Intelligence Service of Greece, that allegedly showed relations between clubs’ executives and Greek Football Association. According to that report various executives, including football players, referees, club and association executives, had formed a criminal organization in order to control the Greek football through fixing matches and blackmailing.",
The 2015–16 Greek Football Cup was the 74th edition of the Greek Football Cup. A total of 34 clubs were accepted to enter. The competition commenced on 9 September 2015 with the preliminary round and was planned to conclude on 23 April 2016 with the final, at the Olympic Stadium.
The 2019–20 Super League Greece was the 84th season of the Super League, the top Greek professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1959.
Davide Massa is an Italian football referee who officiates in Serie A. He has been a FIFA referee since 2014, and is ranked as a UEFA elite category referee.
The 2020–21 Greek Football Cup was the 79th edition of the Greek Football Cup. It took place with the participation of the 14 clubs from the Super League 1, as there was no competitive action in the lower divisions until early January due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Hellenic Football Federation decided that the Cup would be held with the participation of teams only from the Super League, which was running normally. The winner of the Cup qualified for the next season's Europa Conference League third qualifying round.
The 2016 Greek Cup final was the 72nd final of the Greek Cup. It took place on 17 May 2016 at Olympic Stadium, between Olympiacos and AEK Athens. It was Olympiacos' thirty ninth Greek Cup final and second consecutive, in their 91 years of existence and AEK Athens' twenty first Greek Cup final of their 92-year history. On 5 April 2016, FIFA Emergency Committee decided to provide the Greek authorities with a deadline to have the cancellation of the competition reversed before 15 April 2016 or the HFF would face an automatic suspension. The Greek authorities announced on deadline day that the Greek Football Cup will be resumed after an agreement reached with FIFA, UEFA and HFF. A new schedule with the remaining match was announced with the final being played on 7 May 2016, but the final was later postponed to 15 May 2016. It was again postponed to 17 May 2016.
The 2017 Greek Cup final was the 73rd final of the Greek Cup. It took place on 6 May 2017 at Panthessaliko Stadium, between PAOK and AEK Athens. It was PAOK's eighteenth Greek Cup final in their 91 years of existence and AEK Athens' twenty second Greek Cup final and second consecutive, of their 93-year history. The HFF announcement for the 2016–17 Greek Cup mentioned the Olympic Stadium as the host for the final, but PAOK had clarified that they did not want to play at AEK Athens' home stadium, suggesting the Pankritio Stadium, however, the Federation chose the Panthessaliko Stadium. It was a stadium that until the completion of the semi-finals, did not actually exist on the table. The people of Thessaly Football Clubs Association quickly made the decision to submit a file after the qualification of PAOK to the final. In fact, within two hours, they tilted the plate in favor of conducting the game in their area, submitting a complete file. So it was decided that the final would take place at Volos with fans of both clubs and special constructions for the security in the conduction of the match. However, the match was marked by incidents between the fans of both clubs in the streets, inside and outside the stadium, where also was an invasion on the pitch by PAOK fans before the beginning of the match which resulted in punishment on both clubs for the next season.