President of the Greek Basketball Federation resigns amid a match-fixing case

Resignation amid an investigation

The President of the Hellenic Basketball Federation (EOK), Vangelis Liolios, on Sunday, October 25, announced he was stepping down while testifying before an investigating judge as part of a probe into alleged match-fixing in Greek basketball, Euronews reported. According to Anadolu, citing Greek media, Liolios was one of six people arrested on Wednesday in connection with the case. He said he was leaving so that the judicial process could proceed unhindered and Greek basketball could move forward. His testimony lasted about three and a half hours; he rejected the charges. At an emergency meeting, the federation's board unanimously appointed Angelos Papadimitriou's successor — Angelos Papamichail — no, wait: appointed Angelos Papanikolaou as his successor, Anadolu writes, citing Ekathimerini.

The essence of the charges

According to Euronews, the investigation concerns allegations of bribery and the provision of benefits to referees, players and club officials in order to influence the course or outcome of games. The authorities are examining 49 matches played from 2016 to 2026 — from professional and lower national divisions to youth and school championships. The prosecutor's office asserts that the alleged offences were aimed, among other things, at manipulating matches that could have entered betting markets in Greece and abroad. Liolios denies the charges; his defence argues that there is no reliable evidence of his involvement and calls the case a conspiracy. Lawyer Panagiotis Papaioannou also questioned the way reports in the case were published, noting that selective excerpts are insufficient for reliable conclusions. Alongside Liolios, his close associate Georgios Mavraganis is also giving testimony.

Referee in custody and further testimony

A key development was the decision to take former referee Petros Papapetrou into custody after his questioning on Friday, Euronews reports. Police reportedly found 820,000 euros in cash at his home; he is said to have explained this as income from 25 years of work as a referee, service in the forestry sector, family earnings and real estate sales. His lawyer Orestis Georgiadis disputed the charges and said the defence would appeal the detention, presenting documents that, in the defence's view, prove the money's lawful origin. On Monday, international referee Vasso Tsaroucha, EOK refereeing adviser Ilias Koromilas and former referee and member of the Central Refereeing Committee Tasos Piloidis are due to testify. After the latest developments, the EOK board held an emergency meeting and stated that it is meeting twice a day to assess the situation, stressing the priority of the uninterrupted operation of leagues and tournaments.

Context and significance

The new president, Papanikolaou, previously took part in the federation's 2021 presidential election, finishing third after former basketball player Panagiotis Fasoulas and Liolios, and in 2025 he was elected to the EOK board on Liolios's own slate — Anadolu provides these details. The event affects the entire Greek basketball system: the federation's sitting head, referees and officials have come under investigation, and the probe covers matches at all levels, down to school competitions. In practical terms, this means a change of EOK leadership in the midst of a judicial process and the continuation of questioning of key figures in the case, while no final conclusions about guilt have yet been reached — the case is at the stage of testimony and evaluation of evidence by the court.