Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis was caught up in a heated courtside row during the Euroleague Basketball final in Athens on Sunday evening. The 58-year-old, who also owns Greek club Olympiakos, was filmed seeming to quarrel with Grigoris Dimitriadis, nephew and former close advisor to Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, whilst being divided by a barrier and security staff. Footage shared on social media appeared to show Marinakis in a torn shirt during the confrontation at the event, where Olympiakos secured a 92-85 victory over Real Madrid. The incident comes amid ongoing tensions between the pair, with Marinakis-owned media outlets in Greece having covered extensively a phone spyware scandal that resulted in Dimitriadis’s resignation in 2022.
The Athens occurrence develops
The confrontation between Marinakis and Dimitriadis erupted during what should have been a celebratory evening for the Olympiakos owner, whose hoops team secured triumph in one of the most esteemed sporting tournaments. Witnesses at the Athens arena reported that tensions mounted swiftly between the two men, with security personnel compelled to step in to prevent the situation from deteriorating. The incident was captured by multiple spectators and rapidly spread across social media platforms, attracting considerable focus to the mutual antagonism between the pair.
The beginnings of their dispute trace back to 2022, when Dimitriadis was compelled to step down from his role as general secretary in the Prime Minister’s office after a significant phone spyware scandal. In the period following, Marinakis’s Greek media outlets have provided continuous coverage of the affair, maintaining the controversy in the public domain. This relentless reporting is considered to have intensified mutual animosity between the two men, culminating in Sunday’s encounter at the basketball final.
- Marinakis owns both Nottingham Forest and Olympiakos basketball club
- Dimitriadis stepped down over wiretapping controversy in 2022
- Marinakis-owned media outlets extensively covered the scandal
- Olympiakos defeated Real Madrid 92-85 in the final
A record of controversy
Marinakis’s behaviour at athletic competitions has attracted substantial attention over recent times, with the billionaire entrepreneur becoming a divisive figure in football’s inner circles. His ownership of Nottingham Forest has been characterised by erratic decision-making, such as the dismissal of three managers within a single season. Beyond the dugout, his conduct has consistently drawn criticism from regulatory authorities, creating a pattern of disputed incidents that go well beyond the football pitch into his broader sporting ventures across several continents.
The Athens incident represents merely the most recent episode in a lengthening catalogue of disagreements surrounding the Greek magnate. His tendency towards open disputes, alongside his significant media control through his stake in numerous media organisations, has established him as a controversial figure in both Greek and British sporting establishments. The sideline confrontation demonstrates how individual disputes and professional rivalries can collide powerfully in elite athletic arenas, notably when significant financial interests and political ties are involved.
Previous disciplinary issues
In 2024, Marinakis received official sanctions from the Football Association when he was found guilty of improper conduct and issued a five-game stadium ban. The incident took place after Nottingham Forest’s 1-0 Premier League defeat by Fulham, when he was seen spitting on the floor as referees walked past. The sanction represented a major reprimand from the Football Association, demonstrating their dedication to maintaining standards of behaviour amongst club officials at the top tier of domestic football.
Several months later, Marinakis played a key role in what the Football Association termed “an attack on the integrity of a match official on an unparalleled scale.” A Forest social media post questioned video assistant referee Stuart Attwell’s integrity following disputed penalty decisions in a defeat at Everton. The club was handed a significant £750,000 fine, with the FA condemning the post as “ill-chosen and irresponsible,” though Marinakis insisted he had “no regrets” commenting on the official’s performance.
Forest’s turbulent campaign
Nottingham Forest’s 2025-26 season represented one of the most turbulent in living memory, marked by managerial instability and inconsistent performances that left supporters questioning the club’s direction. Marinakis’s decision to appoint and subsequently dismiss three separate managers in one season reflected the instability at the City Ground, with each departure followed by much debate and controversy amongst the club’s supporters. The constant turnover at the managerial position fostered an environment of doubt that ran through the club, damaging team morale and tactical unity at crucial junctures.
Despite the management turmoil, Forest managed to secure Premier League survival by finishing in 16th place, playing to a 1-1 draw with Bournemouth on the last day of the campaign. The point proved sufficient to keep the club in the top flight, though the nature of their survival from relegation danger highlighted the precarious nature of their season. Additionally, the club made it to the semi-finals of the Europa League before enduring a heavy 4-1 aggregate defeat to eventual champions Aston Villa, a result that constituted a significant missed opportunity for European trophies.
| Manager | Tenure outcome |
|---|---|
| Nuno Espirito Santo | Sacked during season |
| Ange Postecoglou | Sacked during season |
| Sean Dyche | Sacked during season |
| Vitor Pereira | Secured Premier League safety |
- Forest finished 16th in the Premier League, just escaping relegation on the last day
- Europa League competition ended in semi-final loss to Aston Villa with 4-1 aggregate loss
- Three managerial changes caused considerable disruption during the entire season
Political divisions and media influence
The confrontation in Athens seems to be rooted in longstanding tensions between Marinakis and Dimitriadis, arising from the latter’s connection to a spyware scandal involving phone surveillance that compelled him to resign from his role as chief secretary in the office of Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in 2022. The incident had considerable political consequences in Greece, and Marinakis’s news organisations have maintained sustained coverage of the incident in the years since. This sustained reporting has apparently sustained underlying tensions between the two men, with the courtside confrontation pointing to animosity remains unresolved despite the passage of time.
Marinakis’s control over Greek media organisations has formerly attracted attention regarding his use of journalistic platforms to advance personal and political grievances. The reporting on Dimitriadis’s controversy constitutes one notable example of how his media power intersects with his personal conflicts. The tense confrontation at the Euroleague championship match, recorded on video and widely shared across social media platforms, demonstrates how these tensions can boil over into public clashes, further amplifying the prominence of their continuing conflict and raising questions about the proper limits between media ownership and personal conflict.