Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis was involved in a heated courtside row during the Euroleague Basketball final in Athens on Sunday night. 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 posted on social media appeared to show Marinakis wearing a ripped shirt during the altercation at the event, where Olympiakos secured a 92-85 victory over Real Madrid. The incident comes during ongoing tensions between the pair, with media outlets owned by Marinakis in Greece having reported extensively on a phone spyware scandal that resulted in Dimitriadis’s resignation in 2022.
The Athens occurrence develops
The dispute between Marinakis and Dimitriadis flared up during what was meant to be a celebratory evening for the Olympiakos owner, whose basketball team achieved success in one of European sport’s most prestigious competitions. Witnesses at the Athens arena reported that tensions intensified quickly between the two men, with security personnel forced to intervene to prevent the situation from deteriorating. The incident was captured by multiple attendees and quickly circulated across social media platforms, attracting considerable focus to the mutual antagonism between the pair.
The foundations of their dispute date from 2022, when Dimitriadis was forced to resign from his position as general secretary in the Prime Minister’s office after a damaging phone spyware scandal. In the years since, Marinakis’s Greek media outlets have provided continuous coverage of the affair, keeping the controversy in the public eye. This persistent reporting is believed to have intensified mutual animosity between the two men, leading to Sunday’s clash at the basketball final.
- Marinakis controls both Nottingham Forest and Olympiakos basketball team
- Dimitriadis stepped down over wiretapping controversy in 2022
- Marinakis-owned media outlets gave substantial coverage to the scandal
- Olympiakos beat Real Madrid 92-85 in the final
A history of dispute
Marinakis’s behaviour at sporting events has attracted considerable scrutiny over the past few years, with the wealthy business magnate emerging as a controversial figure in the football world. His ownership of Nottingham Forest has been defined by volatile decision-making, including the removal of three managers within a single season. Beyond the dugout, his actions has consistently attracted criticism from football authorities, creating a pattern of controversial incidents that extend far beyond the pitch into his wider sporting operations across several continents.
The Athens incident constitutes merely the latest chapter in a growing collection of conflicts with the Greek magnate. His willingness to engage in open disputes, paired with his considerable media reach through his stake in numerous media organisations, has positioned him as a contentious personality in both Greek and British athletic institutions. The courtside altercation underscores how private conflicts and business competition can intersect dramatically in elite athletic arenas, particularly when substantial monetary stakes and political connections are engaged.
Previous conduct matters
In 2024, Marinakis received formal disciplinary action from the Football Association when he was found guilty of improper conduct and given a five-game stadium ban. The occurrence took place after Nottingham Forest’s 1-0 top-flight loss by Fulham, when he was seen expectorating on the ground as match officials walked past. The sanction constituted a major reprimand from the FA, showing their dedication to maintaining standards of behaviour amongst club officials at the highest level of domestic football.
Three months later, 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 challenged video assistant referee Stuart Attwell’s integrity following disputed penalty decisions in a loss against Everton. The club received a substantial £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 chaotic campaign
Nottingham Forest’s 2025-26 season turned out to be one of the most chaotic in living memory, characterised by managerial instability and inconsistent performances that caused supporters to question the club’s path forward. Marinakis’s decision to appoint and subsequently dismiss three managers in total within a single campaign highlighted the turmoil at the City Ground, with each departure followed by much debate and controversy amongst the fanbase. The constant turnover at the helm fostered an environment of instability that spread through the club, damaging team morale and tactical cohesion at critical moments.
Despite the coaching chaos, Forest ultimately secured Premier League safety by finishing in 16th place, playing to a 1-1 draw with Bournemouth on the closing day of the campaign. The point proved adequate to maintain the club’s position in the top flight, though the manner of their escape from relegation danger emphasised the vulnerable position of their campaign. Additionally, the club made it to the semi-finals of the Europa League before experiencing a 4-1 aggregate loss 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 ended 16th in the Premier League, just escaping relegation on the final day
- Europa League run ended in semi-final defeat to Aston Villa with 4-1 on aggregate
- Multiple managerial changes caused significant disruption throughout the entire season
Political divisions and media influence
The clash in Athens seems to be rooted in long-running disputes between Marinakis and Dimitriadis, arising from the latter’s role in a spyware scandal involving phone surveillance that led to his resignation from his position as general secretary in the office of Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in 2022. The incident produced considerable political consequences in Greece, and Marinakis’s news organisations have maintained sustained coverage of the affair in the period following. This persistent reporting has clearly maintained simmering tensions between the two men, with the courtside confrontation pointing to ill feeling continues unresolved despite the time that has elapsed.
Marinakis’s ownership of Greek media outlets has previously attracted attention regarding his utilisation of journalistic platforms to advance personal and political disputes. The reporting on Dimitriadis’s controversy represents one significant instance of how his media influence intersects with his personal conflicts. The heated exchange at the Euroleague final, recorded on video and widely shared across social media platforms, illustrates how these disputes can escalate into public clashes, further increasing the visibility of their continuing conflict and raising questions about the appropriate boundaries between media ownership and personal disputes.