Deeds and Life of D. Giannakopoulos
After the disgusting things Giannakopoulos said at SEF and the threats against the daughter of Olympiacos president, Giorgos Angelopoulos, there shouldn't be any further discussion. This alone is enough. There shouldn't be anything else to say.
However, since there are many fence-sitters and… Pontius Pilates in today’s society, let’s see what exactly Giannakopoulos has done in just the last 45 days. Most of it, of course, you haven’t seen or read anywhere, because there seems to be some unwritten law that prevents the publication of actions and statements that expose him irreparably.
In just the last month, and heading towards the finals, as well as a potential final at the F4 in Abu Dhabi, Dimitris Giannakopoulos has exhibited the most irresponsible attitude based on his institutional role, repeatedly provoking Olympiacos and its fans.
April 18: Instagram story: "I prefer Real (to knock out the ‘red & whites’) because they have them as ‘clients’ (i.e. constantly beat them)"
April 19: Later that same night, after Real was officially the opponent of Olympiacos in the playoffs, he posted a new story on Instagram with a clip of Llull’s basket from the final in Kaunas. In the background, the song "Agálmata (i.e. statues)" was playing, and he shouted "you will be that again."
April 25-26: After Panathinaikos' defeat to Efes and being in a furious state, he launched an attack on Euroleague and specific referees via Instagram:
"Belosevic, Yavor, Pukl, Nikolic, Khordov, all of you! I will fuck you all by myself. I will fuck you all by myself. I did it last year and I will do it again this year."
While he also involved Olympiacos in his delirium, saying: "Just as I defined your end last year, just as I defined your end when you were leaving for A2 (the second Greek division), I will define it this year as well. And I don't give a damn about your fines."
"You can punish me, but not the players. We are coming to fuck you all."
"Hey, man, Ilia, find me the gif to show them how we will have an orgy with all of them."
"There is a saying in Greece that says when you are polite, they take you for weak. We are not weak, believe us! We are stronger than all of you together. Look at us! In the Euroleague, do you want my signature for the next ten years? Here’s what you will get! (showing his genitals). Play by yourselves! We will go to the NBA or FIBA. You are fucking crazy."
Performing the duties of... a Madrid supporter, he addressed Real - the rival of Olympiacos (!), not his team - saying the outrageous: "I don't understand, a club like Real Madrid, a team with so much history and so many titles, accepting to be fucked like this? To be fucked like this?" (making the corresponding obscene gesture), while he continued saying: "Why have Pukl and Radovic played so many games for Olympiacos?"
"Check the statistics. Can someone explain it to me? Even an idiot would understand. It's damn time they wake up."
Threats towards referee Yavor via Instagram with phrases like: "Oh Yavor, if you only knew what's coming for you" and "Yavor, you and I have a long way ahead of us. Because I'm wearing pants while you're wearing skirts."
He also published private mobile conversations and a photo from an airplane focusing on someone who resembled referee Yavor, implying that he might be watching them?
2/5: And while his team's series with Efes goes to a 5th game, he proceeds with three posts containing the following:
"@euroleague: You were a mafia, you are a mafia, you will stop being a mafia."
“Welcome to the jungle. Yavor-Radovic-Pukl, if you have the balls. Here is OAKA.”
“Daniel and Dejan, come to OAKA to watch the game. It's supposed to be important, right?”
*For what he did and said after Games 2 & 4, Euroleague has opened a disciplinary process against him.
In Abu Dhabi during the semifinal of Panathinaikos against Fener, he put on another one of his known shows, bullying the referees and invading the court, moving threateningly towards them with his team members and security trying to hold him back. At the same time, he cursed and gestured obscenely dozens of times towards the Olympiakos fans, acting once again as a common hooligan and not as a team owner.
For these actions, he was punished by the Euroleague with a five-game ban and a fine. It should be noted that he is the only team owner in the competition who is repeatedly banned from watching his team in person due to actions that are unlawful and dangerous for the smooth conduct of the games.
27/5: During the finals and after his repeated provocations towards Olympiacos and his out-of-bounds behavior, the Sports Judge of GBL decided to merge his penalties, concluding that this particular individual is allowed to be physically present at the stadium and even follow his team's delegation at the SEF, without posing any danger. Congratulations.
As soon as he received the green light from the sports judge, he started the provocations again, showing his compliance and intentions in every direction.
29/5: Addressing his team players and according to what journalists covering Panathinaikos have written - which were never denied - he said: "At Olympiacos, they don't talk to each other. You can finish them off! You can destroy them! If we win this title, in these finals, we will dismantle Olympiacos for the next few years" and continued the provocations, asking via Instagram for songs titled "parking" and "locks" (i.e in reference to past incidents) saying, "I want to dedicate this to two friends that I also dedicated the 'until the end' to, and to another guy, again from their group," obviously referring to Panagiotis and Giorgos Angelopoulos and Giorgos Bartzokas.
On the day of the first final - coincidentally, of course - he informed that "the KAE Panathinaikos is filing a lawsuit for document forgery, which is a felony, against a female referee who has been officiating in A1 for the past few years."
KAE Olympiacos sent a letter to the relevant authorities and the State highlighting all of the above and requesting that his presence at the SEF be prohibited for the second final. We did not receive a response.
31/5: After the defeat in the first final, the presidents of Olympiakos requested in a statement that the members of our team "show up" for the second match that followed 48 hours later. Without any reason to intervene, the provocative Dimitris Giannakopoulos took to Instagram and once again ignited the atmosphere by saying: "You can ask everyone to show up on Sunday, just know that I will show up too. And I’m pissed!"
Otherwise, you all try to convince us that he came to SEF to watch basketball and not to disrupt the game.
In another post from his car, he appears to meaningfully ask: "Am I going the right way for SEF parking?"
1/6: Before the second final at the SEF, he announced his coming on Instagram, as if he was scheduling a fight, saying: "And now I will come down too, so that 15 thousand can curse me."
KAE Olympiacos sent another letter to the relevant authorities and the State, reiterating its request that he is not allowed to be present at the SEF for safety reasons, but once again we received no response.
A few hours before the tip-off, wearing a "PKPG" shirt, putting on the hashtag #lockdown and pounding his chest frantically, he said: "Normally, I shouldn't have come today. Because in the event of a possible victory for Panathinaikos, it's a game; we might win, we might lose, but in the event of a possible victory for Panathinaikos, you would be dealing with those who have been losing for years while I have been involved and are deceiving you, and there would be parking 2 and so on… . But my name is Giannakopoulos, and you insulted me in Abu Dhabi with my child next to me. I'm coming!"
Before the start of the game, in front of the referees, he was asked by Olympiacos’ people not to enter the stadium with that specific shirt, which is provocative, and his response was that it does not refer to any slogan (i.e. PKPG are the initials to a provocative chant against him) but rather means something totally different and innocuous (i.e. Friday Sunday Celebration Again)! He was informed that abusive chants against individuals would be recorded as voted by the teams of the E.S.A.K.E. (including Panathinaikos) and that no inappropriate behavior would be tolerated from the people of the two teams who are not listed on the game delegation list but sit next to the benches!
At the SEF, no one bothered him! He entered like a bully with a security detail of 10, sat down, and at the first insulting chant, for which the KAE Olympiacos immediately proceeded with warnings as required by regulation, he stood up, made obscene gestures towards the crowd and our Presidents, entered the court with all his entourage - without any right - and began to attack the referees and escalate the atmosphere. He continued to be in an agitated state, provoking the anger of the fans by making continuous gestures towards the Olympiacos' Presidents. In response to the new insulting chants that followed, which are condemnable, KAE Olympiacos repeated the warnings over the loudspeakers, and then he shouted and shouted in front of dozens of witnesses the infamous sick threat regarding Giorgos Angelopoulos' daughter. He even requested that the message be personally conveyed to the President of Olympiacos. A few minutes later, he did the same under the basket where he was sitting, and despite the fact that the referees had requested his removal from the court to start the game, Giannakopoulos refused to leave and continued to provoke the Olympiacos fans with the sole aim of creating incidents and halting the game. He miserably failed, as the Olympiacos crowd was not swayed by his provocations and remained impeccable until the end of the game.
When he left the stadium, he continued to provoke with his behavior for quite some time, simultaneously live-streaming the events (his favorite hobby) from his personal Instagram account. He was provoking and refusing to comply with the instructions of the Prosecutor and the police authorities, unlawfully attempting to re-enter the stadium and lying that the police were assaulting him. These are the actions (ONLY in the last 45 days) of the person with whom we were asked to sit at the same table and vow to an ethical commitment. The concept of morality is difficult, and even more challenging is for someone to make it their own.
Giannakopoulos' actions do not all constitute criminal offenses; however, they clearly highlight his demeanor, rhetoric, perception of victory and defeat, his nonexistent responsibility and maturity, and generally his character and intentions.
P.S. In ALL of the above, Olympiacos' reaction was zero. In this story, there is one guilty party. Find him and punish him.
P.S.2. It took about 2000 words to succinctly describe only what he has done in the last 45 days. For the "deeds" of his... career, entire volumes are needed