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AEK Athens squandered the accidental to wrapper up the Greek Super League title for the 2025-26 play connected Sunday evening against location broadside Panathinaikos Athens astatine the latter’s Leoforos Alexandras stadium. It’s a rubric they’ve been half-clutching for a period now, yet thing ever seems to hold this result.
On Sunday, the AEK players appeared tense successful their work to unwrap a “gift” provided little than a fractional hr earlier astatine PAOK’s Toumba stadium, seemingly disoriented by Javi Hernández’s reddish paper that near Panathinaikos a antheral down from the 17th minute. In this way, AEK kept the rubric contention open, and this is simply a item that successful 2 weeks whitethorn mean nothing. But it whitethorn besides not beryllium arsenic insignificant arsenic it appears today…
Why? Because beyond the comfortableness of a six-point pb successful the existent playoffs, determination is present a interest connected the portion of league-leader AEK of being chased by 2 teams, arsenic the archetypal Sunday of May became PAOK’s “resurrection” Sunday. The upcoming docket volition spot a PAOK–AEK derby connected Wednesday (May 13) and a AEK–Olympiacos derby (May 17), connected the last matchday of the playoffs. So, it’s not impossible.
Razvan Lucescu’s PAOK managed, from the 65th infinitesimal (up 3–1) to flooded Olympiacos’ champion 60 minutes successful this Super League season—and that unsocial is grounds for an absorbing discussion.
In his post-game comments, the Romanian coach, arsenic the victor of the game, people focused connected the back-and-forth play betwixt the 63rd and 65th minutes. First, lucifer MVP Jiri Pavlenka, PAOKs’ goalkeeper, denied an astir definite extremity by an fantabulous Chiquinho to adjacent the people astatine 2–2 for Olympiacos. Then, earlier the shot reaches the other goal, Alexander Jeremejeff —with a magical touch—creates an unthinkable determination that makes it 3–1 (65’). The lucifer took connected a roller coaster gait astatine this point.
And what astir Olympiacos manager José Luis Mendilibar? The Basque coach, who has a large respect for football, constricted himself to a quip similar “we gave it away.” Yet, betwixt us, nary 1 spoke astir the “elephant successful the room”, which refers to however PAOK took the pb successful the 15th infinitesimal with a extremity that refereeing analysts judged should not person stood, citing 3 antithetic reasons.
Television expert and erstwhile referee Ilias Spathas explained 2 of them connected Mega Channel: “There is an offside-positioned subordinate who moves toward the ball. Even if the referee thinks helium is not successful the goalkeeper’s enactment of sight, the extremity cannot basal erstwhile Baba moves toward the ball. It’s offside due to the fact that the exposed subordinate deceives Tzolakis (Olympiacos’ keeper). Even if we presume his archetypal presumption doesn’t impact play, his question is enough.”
PAOK defender Baba so did both: archetypal limiting Tzolakis’ visibility vis-a-vis Michailidis’ shot, past going for the rebound—thus “playing” from an offside position.
A 3rd mentation was fixed by expert and ex-referee Panagiotis Varouchas connected authorities broadcaster ERT, arguing that Jeremejeff’s extremity should not person counted due to the fact that it came from a throw-in wrongly fixed arsenic a corner.
If 1 agrees that Olympiacos, with 10 shots connected extremity and astatine slightest 4–5 wide chances successful the archetypal half, was fortunate to caput into the interruption astatine 1–1 due to the fact that of that goal, past they apt recognize 2 much things. First, that had they led alternatively of chasing PAOK from nowhere, they mightiness person repeated an distant win, akin to the 1 against Panathinaikos much than a week ago. And second, that erstwhile PAOK inevitably balanced the match, Mendilibar’s side—needing lone a win—would person had to instrumentality large risks, allowing for unfastened spaces and allowing the prime of Jeremejeff and Zivkovic to run successful a freestyle play.
Incidentally, the refereeing squad was Italian, with Vergeitis arsenic 4th official. Sozza was connected the pitch, assisted by the linesmen Trinchieri and Fontani, with Pairetto and Fourneau the VAR duo. Together, they managed to neglect to spot 3 abstracted infringements successful the build-up to the 1–0. Unfortunately, the referee, his 2nd assistant, the adjunct VAR ref, and surely the VAR authoritative inevitably stirred antagonistic memories among Olympiacos fans.
Many recalled the quartet of Massa, Berti, Berzoli, Piccinini successful the Olympiacos–AEK lucifer (1–3) midway done the 2023 playoffs—a effect that propelled AEK to the rubric and abruptly ended the Reds’ hopes. Others remembered the Olympiacos–Panathinaikos crippled successful October of the aforesaid year—the abandoned derby that reached the CAS tribunal and became known arsenic the “Juankar case”. There too, Italian referees were present: Maresca, Bacchini, Vecchi and Piccinini.
Do Italian referees person thing against Olympiacos, oregon is it coincidence?
Would Sozza, for instance, person counted Yusuf Yazici’s extremity successful the caller Olympiacos–AEK derby a fewer weeks ago, judging that Pirola was not offside and not influencing AEK keeper Thomas Strakosha? They themselves evidently know. But others tin besides cognize definite things astir them.
For astir a week now, the neighboring state has been gripped by a shot ungraded centered connected Serie A’s refereeing chief.
Gianluca Rocchi—the antheral successful question—has already passed done the doors of a Milan prosecutor. He’s been the caput of refereeing successful Italian shot since 2021, a favourite of UEFA refereeing main Roberto Rosetti, who adjacent selected him for the 2019 Europa League final. He is accused of manipulating matches by pressuring VAR officials implicit the past 2 years. There are assorted recorded conversations, arsenic accustomed successful specified cases, but supra all, a video from past year’s Udinese-Parma match, wherever a VAR official, having made a decision, looks extracurricular the country and changes it.
That VAR authoritative is Daniele Paterna (who is charged with perjury), and the incidental concerns a handball and a imaginable penalty. In the video, initially released by a quality agency, helium is reluctant to grant the penalty, noting that the manus is adjacent to the assemblage and asking: “Is it a penalty?” Moments later, however, helium looks extracurricular the country and seems to go person changed his mind: “Wait, Fabio, I’ll cheque the app. It’s a imaginable penalty, I urge you reappraisal it.” The punishment is yet given.
“Fabio” is Fabio Maresca—the referee of the Olympiacos–Panathinaikos match, the “Juankar match”. He’s the 1 who wrote 1 happening successful the Karaiskakis Stadium lucifer study and thing other successful a supplementary study sent to the officiating committee 2 days later, playing a decisive relation successful Olympiacos losing the lucifer connected paper.
That VAR authoritative is Daniele Paterna (who is charged with perjury), and the incidental concerns a handball and a imaginable penalty. In the video, initially released by a quality agency, helium is reluctant to grant the penalty, noting that the manus is adjacent to the assemblage and asking: “Is it a penalty?” Moments later, however, helium looks extracurricular the country and seems to go person changed his mind: “Wait, Fabio, I’ll cheque the app. It’s a imaginable penalty, I urge you reappraisal it.” The punishment is yet given.
“Fabio” is Fabio Maresca—the referee of the Olympiacos–Panathinaikos match, the “Juankar match”. He’s the 1 who wrote 1 happening successful the Karaiskakis Stadium lucifer study and thing other successful a supplementary study sent to the officiating committee 2 days later, playing a decisive relation successful Olympiacos losing the lucifer connected paper.
And who was sitting adjacent to Paterna successful the Udinese–Parma match, the crippled that opened the doorway to the scandal? In that aforesaid game, arsenic AVAR, looking astatine the aforesaid image, was Simone Sozza—the referee of past night’s PAOK–Olympiacos derby.
Someone who, until this substance is clarified, possibly should not beryllium officiating, arrived with his squad to determine the destiny of the PAOK–Olympiacos game. He was appointed by Stéphane Lannoy, alongside Greek ref Vergeitis—who has apt watched much PAOK matches this play than Hellenic Football Federation (EPO) President Makis Gagatsis—and who was the VAR authoritative successful this year’s Kifissia–PAOK punishment incident.
According to ex-referee Pascal de Melo, Gianluca Rocchi and his referees had developed a concealed codification to pass wrong the VAR room, based connected the “rock, paper, scissors” game. The purpose was to favour definite teams and support definite referees from harsher evaluations, since VAR involution could exposure large errors.
Who said VAR tin support you from everything?
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