Demol reveals Greek soccer corruption
Former Aegaleo and PAS Giannina coach Stephane Demol revealed on Wednesday that in 2004 the then-president of Aegaleo asked him to fix a match so that the club’s players could get paid. The revelation came one day after the appeals court prosecutor reopened the match-fixing case, concerning the 2009-12 period, which had remained closed since last fall.
In an interview with Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad, 45-year-old Demol claimed that Aegaleo president Thomas Mitropoulos asked him to throw a game away as the club was suffering financial problems.
“The first Greek club I managed was Aegaleo. In December we were in fourth place and going for a UEFA Cup spot, beyond any expectations. The president came to me to say: ‘The budget is big, we are fourth, you have already earned a lot. If you want the players to get paid we will have to sort some games out. I will be telling you in advance whether we need to win or lose.’
“Of course I refused. The next day they issued tickets for me to return to Belgium, telling me that I should learn about the Greek way,» said the Belgian coach, who currently manages FC Brussels.
Mitropoulos went on record later on Wednesday to deny all the allegations by Demol.
