Olympiakos owner takes over Nottingham Forest

Greek shipping magnate and owner of Olympiakos soccer club Evangelos Marinakis has bought English team Nottingham Forest, the Championship club said on Thursday.

The takeover was approved by the English Football League despite the fact that Marinakis faces match-fixing accusations in Greece and charges that he is involved in a criminal organization.

Marinakis denied the accusations in an interview with the BBC, saying they were the invention of people who are "jealous" of his success with Olympiakos, Greece's almost perennial champion over the last 20 years.

"I have nothing to be afraid of and to worry about as I have done nothing wrong," he said.