Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis was caught up in a heated courtside row during the Euroleague Basketball final in Athens on Sunday night. The 58-year-old, who also owns Greek side Olympiakos, was filmed appearing to argue with Grigoris Dimitriadis, nephew and former trusted advisor to Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, whilst being divided by a barrier and security personnel. Footage shared on social media appeared to show Marinakis in a torn shirt during the confrontation at the event, where Olympiakos achieved a 92-85 victory over Real Madrid. The incident comes during ongoing tensions between the pair, with Marinakis-owned media outlets in Greece having reported extensively on a mobile phone spyware scandal that resulted in Dimitriadis’s resignation in 2022.
The Athens event unfolds
The altercation between Marinakis and Dimitriadis erupted during what was meant to be a celebratory evening for the Olympiakos owner, whose hoops team claimed victory in one of European sport’s most prestigious competitions. Witnesses at the Athens venue reported that tensions intensified quickly between the two men, with security staff forced to intervene to prevent the situation from deteriorating. The altercation was captured by multiple attendees and quickly circulated across social media platforms, drawing widespread attention to the mutual antagonism between the pair.
The beginnings of their dispute date from 2022, when Dimitriadis was forced to resign from his role as general secretary in the Prime Minister’s office following a serious phone spyware scandal. In the time since, Marinakis’s Greek media outlets have maintained sustained coverage of the affair, maintaining the controversy in the public domain. This relentless reporting is thought to have intensified personal tensions between the two men, resulting in Sunday’s clash at the basketball final.
- Marinakis owns both Nottingham Forest and Olympiakos basketball club
- Dimitriadis stepped down over wiretapping controversy in 2022
- Marinakis-owned news organisations extensively covered the scandal
- Olympiakos defeated Real Madrid 92-85 in the final
A history of contention
Marinakis’s conduct at sporting events has generated significant examination over the past few years, with the billionaire businessman becoming a controversial figure in football circles. His control of Nottingham Forest has been marked by volatile decision-making, including the dismissal of three separate managers within a single season. Beyond the dugout, his behaviour has continually drawn criticism from football authorities, creating a track record of disputed incidents that stretch well past the football pitch into his broader sporting ventures across multiple continents.
The Athens incident marks merely the most recent episode in a lengthening catalogue of disputes involving the Greek magnate. His willingness to engage in open disputes, alongside his considerable media reach through his stake in numerous media organisations, has positioned him as a controversial figure in both Greek and British sporting establishments. The pitch-side incident highlights how personal grievances and business competition can converge forcefully in elite athletic arenas, especially where substantial monetary stakes and political ties are at play.
Earlier disciplinary issues
In 2024, Marinakis faced official sanctions from English football authorities when he was deemed culpable of misconduct and handed a five-match ground exclusion. The occurrence happened following Nottingham Forest’s 1-0 Premier League defeat by Fulham, when he was seen spitting on the floor as referees walked past. The punishment constituted a significant rebuke from the Football Association, showing their commitment to upholding conduct of conduct among club personnel at the highest level of English football.
Several months afterwards, Marinakis became central to what the Football Association described as “an attack on the integrity of a match official on an unparalleled scale.” A Forest online statement questioned video assistant referee Stuart Attwell’s integrity following disputed penalty decisions in a loss against Everton. The club received a significant £750,000 fine, with the FA condemning the post as “ill-chosen and irresponsible,” though Marinakis maintained he had “no regrets” discussing the official’s performance.
Forest’s troubled season
Nottingham Forest’s 2025-26 season proved to be one of the most chaotic in recent years, characterised by constant managerial change and inconsistent performances that caused supporters to question the club’s direction. Marinakis’s move to recruit and later remove three separate managers over the course of one season demonstrated the chaos at the City Ground, with each departure accompanied by much debate and controversy amongst the club’s supporters. The constant turnover at the helm fostered an environment of instability that spread through the club, affecting squad morale and tactical cohesion at crucial junctures.
Despite the managerial upheaval, Forest ultimately secured Premier League survival by securing 16th place, drawing 1-1 with Bournemouth on the last day of the campaign. The point proved adequate to keep the club in the top flight, though the nature of their survival from relegation threat highlighted the precarious nature of their season. Additionally, the club reached the semi-finals of the Europa League before suffering a devastating 4-1 aggregate defeat to eventual champions Aston Villa, a result that represented a significant missed opportunity for continental honours.
| 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 completed 16th in the Premier League, just escaping relegation on the final day
- Europa League competition ended in semi-final loss to Aston Villa with 4-1 on aggregate
- Three managerial changes caused considerable disruption throughout the entire season
Political conflict and media impact
The altercation in Athens seems to be stemming from deep-seated tensions between Marinakis and Dimitriadis, stemming from the latter’s connection to a phone spyware scandal that led to his resignation from his role as general secretary in the administration of Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in 2022. The incident produced considerable political consequences in Greece, and Marinakis’s media outlets have kept up continuous reporting of the matter in the time that has followed. This sustained reporting has apparently sustained underlying tensions between the two men, with the courtside confrontation suggesting that ill feeling continues unresolved despite the years that have passed.
Marinakis’s control over Greek media organisations has previously drawn scrutiny concerning his use of news outlets to pursue personal and political grievances. The reporting on Dimitriadis’s scandal constitutes one significant instance of how his media power overlaps with his personal disputes. The tense confrontation at the Euroleague final, captured on film and extensively circulated across social media channels, illustrates how these tensions can escalate into public confrontations, further amplifying the prominence of their continuing conflict and prompting debate about the appropriate boundaries between media control and personal disputes.