Forest owner Marinakis on trial in Athens after allegations over him about inciting gang violence and misdemeanor.
Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis has gone on trial in Athens accused of instigating football violence and supporting a criminal organisation.
The 58-year-old, who owns Greek side Olympiacos, is accused, along with four other board members of two misdemeanour counts – encouraging violence with comments against authorities and of financing a criminal gang between 2019 to 2024.
The other Olympiacos board members and Marinakis, who was represented in court by his attorney Vassilis Dimakopoulos, have rejected the misdemeanour charges as unfounded.
In total, 142 fans face charges of being members of a criminal organisation and causing life-threatening explosions at sporting events. Seven of them for running the criminal group. They have all denied wrongdoing.
The charges are related to riot police officer George Lyngeridis, 31, who was killed in 2023 outside of an Olympiacos vs. Panathinaikos women’s volleyball match.
Lyngeridis was wounded by a flare during the fighting and died from his injuries weeks later.
The trial is expected to last several months, with more than 200 people expected to testify in the trial.