Zizi Roberts, victim of fraud, walks free
Olympiakos’s Liberian international, Zizi Roberts, walked free from court yesterday after being cleared of trying to cash a stolen check worth thousands of dollars. A magistrates court decided the player had been the victim of fraud. Roberts entered the privately owned Eurobank branch Monday in order to cash a $66,000 check which the 23-year-old striker said had been given to him by his former team Panionios. The check was supposed to cover payments owed to Roberts following his transfer to Olympiakos over the summer with two years remaining on his contract. But a cashier discovered that the check had been reported stolen in June and police were called in. Roberts spent 24 hours in custody until magistrates heard from Panionios owner Achilleas Beos on Tuesday that the matter would be resolved in three to four days. An announcement by the Olympiakos soccer club yesterday said Roberts is innocent and blamed Panionios for the problem. Olympiakos coach Takis Lemonis announced his player would play against visiting Deportivo La Coruna of Spain in their Champions League match tomorrow. Panionios, meanwhile, announced they would look over financial records to find out how Roberts received the stolen check. (AFP) Olympiakos are playing against Deportivo, and if they win, and we beat Lille, then they’ll get that spot, so we’ve got to be fair.
