Controversial owner of Panathinaikos Dimitris Janakopoulos lost his temper after defeat by Maccabi.
Source: Nikola Krstic / Shutterstock Editorial / Profimedia
Panathinaikos basketball players were defeated in Belgrade by Maccabi (85:83) and are now facing elimination in the quarterfinals of the Euroleague. The Israeli team has the advantage (2:1) and the match ball in Pionir, in front of several hundred of their fans who came to cheer on the team. Support in the hall is just one of the things that bothers the first man of the Greek club, the controversial Dimitris Janakopoulos.
He protested the presence of fans even before the match, then during the match he took out banknotes and showed them to the referees with the allusion that they were paid, and at the end he cursed in Serbian. The target of his insults was the Croatian referee Luka Kardum, whom he cursed in an address via Instagram, before giving a speech about the refereeing in the Euroleague. It’s not the end either, now Janakopoulos has gone one step further.
True, it is not clear to whom the message on his social networks was addressed, but it is clear that he is trying to build on the case of Slovenian judge Matej Boltauzer. “Maybe next time instead of perfume to cover up the stench, you should steal glasses to see better“, the first man of the Greek club wrote on his Instagram story.
We remind you that after Partizan’s match in the Euroleague, the Slovenian referee caused a scandal at the Belgrade airport, where he stole perfume. He was later accused of that crime, so he settled the obligations he had, and he paid an additional amount of money to charity to atone for the crime. However, it is unclear why Janakopoulos mentioned him after the defeat against Maccabi, because the Slovenian did not referee that match.
They made up the three judges Sreten Radović, Emin Mogulkoč and Luka Kardum, whom Dimitris took the most after the game. It seems that the temperamental owner of Panathinaikos will not rest until he insults all the referees who administer justice in the Euroleague, regardless of whether they affect the results of his team’s matches or not.