Panagiotis Giannakis testifies in Greek basketball rigged-games case, backing the prosecution

Giannakis appears before the investigating judge

Panagiotis Giannakis, a veteran Greek basketball player and coach, arrived at the former Evelpidon military academy courts in Athens shortly after 11 on Monday, 2 November, to give evidence to the investigating judge handling the case of rigged basketball games. He entered the building smiling and made no statement. He intends to declare himself a supporting party to the prosecution. His lawyer, Andreas Mitsainas, had flagged that intention to the judge after appearing before him on 23 October. Giannakis's appearance came while six defendants were giving their pleas in the case.

“He wants to come on Monday to testify and, if needed, make a statement supporting the prosecution.”

Mitsainas said his client would also speak about what he described as retaliatory whistles directed at him, and possibly about other material in the case file that had not yet reached the lawyer's knowledge.

The 2018 match at the centre of the claim

A key witness in the case file says that a 2018 match between Aris and a Faros team was rigged. Reports name the Faros side differently: Faros Keratsiniou in one article and Faros Larissas in others. According to the witness's testimony, as reported in the media, the referee in charge was paid 5,000 euros to disadvantage Aris. The witness says that referee then deliberately gave Giannakis, who was coaching Aris, two technical fouls, which led to his ejection from the game. The witness's account is a claim in the case file and has not been tested in court.

Tasos Piloidis, a former referee among the accused, is the referee the witness describes. Piloidis denies the incident, has called the testimony about the technical fouls fabrications and figments of imagination, and has filed a complaint against the witness for false testimony. He has also said the following about Giannakis:

“Panagiotis Giannakis is a legend of Greek basketball and I would never do anything to harm him.”

Measures against the defendants

Four people have been remanded in custody in the case: Vangelis Liolios, until recently head of the Basketball Federation, businessman Giorgos Mavraganis, and former referees Petros Papapetrou and Ilias Koromilas. Reports describe the four as taken to prison, and the remand decision is the measure the reports give for them.

The active referee Vasiliki Tsarouchas and Tasos Piloidis have been placed under house arrest with electronic monitoring. Both are also barred from any involvement in basketball. The split between four remand orders and two house-arrest measures is the picture reported for the six defendants.

Remanded in custody4

House arrest with electronic monitoring2

Remanded in custody

4 people

House arrest with electronic monitoring

2 people

Data from the article text

Timeline and what comes next

The sequence so far runs from the lawyer's appearance before the judge on 23 October to Giannakis's arrival on Monday, 2 November. The articles do not say when his testimony will end or what the investigating judge will decide next. Reports also do not confirm how much of the witness's account will be backed by other evidence in the file.

The case is the basketball match-fixing investigation that media outlets have dubbed Basketgate. Its next stage depends on the testimony of Giannakis and the remaining pleas from the defendants.