The presidents of two Super League clubs were among the 15 people who were on Thursday identified by the Athens prosecutor for their alleged involvement in match-fixing. Achilleas Beos of Olympiakos Volos and Kavala's Stavros Psomiadis were arrested along with seven others on Wednesday before the authorities announced a list of 15 people in total, 10 of who have now been taken into custody, in connection to graft in football.
In a further twist, Psomiadis's father Makis - a former president of Kavala and AEK Athens - is among those the police are actively searching for. Other soccer bosses arrested were the president of second-division side Ilioupoli, Giorgos Tsakoyiannis, and the manager of second-division side Ethnikos Asteras, Nikos Pantelis. They stand accused of several charges including betting fraud, money laundering and participation in a criminal group.
The Greek government responded to the arrests by pledging to get to the bottom of match-fixing allegations as part of a wider effort to tackle corruption in the debt-ridden country. Citizens' Protection Minister Christos Papoutsis said that the police would "decisively" investigate any claims of corruption within football. "I want to call on all responsible parties, clubs and every citizen that is truly interested in cleaning up Greek football to provide the police with information that can cast light on all aspects of this affair," Papoutsis said in a statement. The investigation was launched after European soccer's governing body UEFA handed Greek authorities a report citing irregular betting patterns, mostly involving Greek Cup and division two games over the last three seasons.
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