A wild confrontation between the Aggelopoulos brothers, Dimitris Giannakopoulos, and Ergin Ataman has ignited the finals.
The derby between Olympiacos and Panathinaikos in the Basket League championship went beyond the basketball court, with the two “eternal enemies” engaging in a fierce clash involving accusations, lawsuits, and obscene gestures, setting the finals on fire ahead of Game 3, which returns to OAKA on Wednesday, June 4 at 21:00, after Olympiacos evened the series at 1–1 with a win at SEF.

The peak of Sunday’s events at SEF came with statements from Panagiotis and Giorgos Aggelopoulos, who made shocking accusations against Dimitris Giannakopoulos. They stated they have filed a lawsuit against him, alleging that before the game started, the Panathinaikos owner – in an outburst – threatened to rape Giorgos Aggelopoulos’s daughter and made obscene gestures toward both brothers upon entering the arena.

What Happened

The second final began to spiral out of control even before the tip-off. The incident was triggered by the ejection of Dimitris Giannakopoulos. Offensive chants about his daughter from Olympiacos fans enraged him. After responding with a gesture, he turned to the referees, demanding they record the chants.

Referees Tsimpouris, Maglogiannis, and Christinakis decided to eject the Panathinaikos president, who erupted both in the tunnel and in the locker rooms before finally leaving SEF and missing the game, which his team lost 91–83. But that was the least of it.

About two minutes before the game started (after a delay due to earlier tensions), Giannakopoulos was seen in the locker rooms. Panathinaikos clarified that he hadn’t been ejected, but had gone to speak with the prosecutor present at SEF. He broadcasted live on Instagram, sharing the atmosphere and his discussions with police officers preventing him from re-entering the arena.

Giannakopoulos was persistently asking either to be arrested or allowed back into the venue.

Stories posted by Giannakopoulos during the 2nd final:

During the match, both clubs exchanged public statements explaining their sides of the story.

Initially, Panathinaikos claimed that Giannakopoulos was not ejected by the referees. They said that referees Tsimpouris, Maglogiannis, and Christinakis simply asked him to leave the court due to the tension, so the match could begin. “Mr. Giannakopoulos was not ejected. The referees asked him to step away from the court due to the situation so the game could start. He left to speak with the prosecutor regarding the disgusting chants about his daughter,” the club stated.

Fierce Clash Between the Aggelopoulos Brothers, Giannakopoulos, and Ataman Sets Fire to the Finals

Olympiacos, in a halftime statement, claimed that Giannakopoulos was about to be arrested under orders from the prosecutor. The statement said that had he refused to leave the stadium, his arrest would have been ordered. However, he left the venue to avoid arrest.

Giannakopoulos’s Departure from SEF

Panathinaikos responded by saying that Giannakopoulos did not leave to avoid arrest and was never informed of any such action. “It’s not true that Mr. Giannakopoulos left to avoid arrest. No one informed him of any arrest. He left on his own because the entire stadium was hurling vile insults at him and his daughter, and no one intervened.”

The Lawsuit and the Aggelopoulos Brothers’ Accusations

After the game, Olympiacos owners Giorgos and Panagiotis Aggelopoulos, along with team director Nikos Lepeniotis, spoke live on ERT and detailed their version of the events.

Olympiacos filed a lawsuit against Giannakopoulos and requested an immediate arrest. Panagiotis Aggelopoulos stated: “A lawsuit has been filed by the club; the arrest procedure is active.”

Giorgos Aggelopoulos added: “Dimitris Giannakopoulos is currently being sought under the arrest warrant. We demand from the Greek State that he be arrested immediately. No, we don’t know where he lives. Let’s stop this fairy tale.”

The Olympiacos leadership also commented on statements by Ergin Ataman after the game. Ataman had said:
“No one can say ‘fk Turkey, fk Panathinaikos.’ Maybe they can say it about Panathinaikos, but not Turkey. Whoever said that is a bastard!”

Olympiacos responded:
“Ataman called Olympiacos fans bastards. No one can call them that. He must be dealt with – he works in a foreign country. They are inciting violence. We don’t know how these finals will end.”