AEK

“Remember that the Patriarch will always be by your side. Long live AEK!” the Ecumenical Patriarch declared at a dinner held in his honor – See photos below.

On Friday evening, Nea Filadelfia welcomed Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, who attended the dedication ceremony (Thyranoixia) of the chapel built in memory of Michalis Katsouris.

Owner of Greek soccer powerhouse AEK, Dimitris Melissanidis, announced in a written statement on Monday the sale of the club to shipowner Marios Iliopoulos.

After thanking AEK fans for their support Mellisannidis announced he is leaving the club. "Forgive me, but my journey has reached its final destination. I hand over the reins to shipowner Marios Iliopoulos," he stated.

PAOK has the chance to reclaim the top spot of the Super League on Monday if it beats Volos at home, after leader Olympiakos shared a goalless draw with AEK at the Olympic Stadium of Athens on Sunday. However the weekend was marred by serious clashes between fans and police on a number of occasions around Athens.

Olympiakos had to work hard to beat OFI at home and stay alone on top of the Super League on Saturday, three days before its Champions League clash with Bayern Munich in Piraeus.

Within a few hours on Friday Manolo Jimenez, who led AEK to the league title this season, left the Yellows of Athens, and was replaced by former Panathinaikos manager Marinos Ouzounidis.

After a year of being under the control of a FIFA normalisation committee, Greek football looks to be in a worse position than when FIFA parachuted itself in to take control. New data suggests that as many as 75% of the games in the country’s second tier Football League show signs of match-fixing under FIFA’s stewardship.

Olympiakos Piraeus named Takis Lemonis as coach on Monday in place of Besnik Hasi who left the club after three months in charge following the 3-2 defeat by fierce rival AEK on Sunday.

The Greek champion, who travels to Juventus on Wednesday in the Champions League, let a 2-0 lead slip in the Super League match at the Olympic Stadium and is now five points behind league leader AEK.

The Greek Cup quarterfinal between AEK and Olympiakos was called off March 11 with one minute to go after a pitch invasion by fans in the Athens Olympic Stadium.

About 25 AEK supporters ran onto the pitch before throwing objects and chasing Olympiakos players following an 89th-minute goal by midfielder Franco Jara that gave the visiting side a decisive 1-0 lead.

The head of the Hellenic Football Federation (EPO), Giorgos Sarris, and Olympiakos chairman Vangelis Marinakis both gave depositions on Wednesday as part of an investigation into an attack on a soccer referee last week.

A prosecutor who deals with sporting issues has called the chairmen of two of Greece’s biggest soccer clubs as well as the head of the country’s soccer federation to answer questions relating to an assault on a referee last week.