Olympiacos rebukes Dimitris Giannakopoulos: "Watch what you wish for"

A fresh scandal in Greek basketball escalated on October 24, 2026, after Olympiacos issued a blunt public rebuke directed at Panathinaikos president Dimitris Giannakopoulos. The Piraeus club explicitly denied any role in the ongoing investigation and accused the Athens side of trying to steer proceedings in its own favour.

Olympiacos rejects any involvement

In its statement Olympiacos said it is pursuing a single objective: equal treatment on the court. "We are conducting a genuine fight for 50-50 fair officiating and we will fight to the end! We will not be allies in Dimitris Giannakopoulos's attempts to secure 100-0 officiating in favor of his team. We have absolutely no connection to the investigation. In the case materials our club's name is not even mentioned," the club wrote.

The message from Piraeus included a sharper warning aimed directly at Giannakopoulos. "We have nothing and no one to fear! We do not play judges on Instagram or behind keyboards. One piece of advice — watch what you wish for! Because if what was stolen really returns, your team's trophy cabinet and the famed table in Souni will be filled with cobwebs instead of trophies," the Olympiacos statement added.

Club officials framed the response as part of a longer campaign for impartial officiating rather than an attack on any single club. Still, the exchange has intensified the verbal feud between the two perennial Greek rivals and opened a new chapter in the investigation.

The developments come amid ongoing inquiries that have stirred passions across Greece, with fans and clubs exchanging accusations on social media and in press statements.

For now, both sides remain entrenched: Panathinaikos's leadership has publicly pushed for scrutiny of refereeing and competition integrity, while Olympiacos insists it wants only a level playing field and denies any involvement in the probe.

Photo: dimitris giannakopoulos instagram