EPO to Olympiakos: “Foreign referees are appointed by the countries where the request is submitted”

EPO/KED responded to Olympiakos and the position he had taken earlier for the appointment of Fabio Maresca, second division referee, in the derby with Panathinaikos next Sunday.

With an announcement, it is clarified that the referees are in fact appointed by the federation of the respective country where a request has been submitted. He mentions that only the Italian federation responded to the EPO’s request, in view of the upcoming derby of the ages.

The EPO announcement in detail:

In relation to publications and reports on the appointment of the refereeing officials of the Olympiakos-Panathinaikos match for the 8th matchday of Super League 1, KED/EPO notes the following.

• The KED/EPO appoints only Greek arbitrators and not foreigners.

• The federations of the countries, to which the KED/EPO request is submitted, designate the refereeing team for each matchday.

• In the event that it is impossible to find an elite or A-class referee, even a UEFA B-class referee can be appointed, just as the president of SL1, Mr. Evangelos Marinakis, in his letter of 29/8/2023 explicitly states: ” … you can process and immediately you should ensure: The presence of UEFA category 2 Referees who are good referees from the most important European leagues and want to progress in an international environment”.

• In this particular case the only federation that responded was the Italian one, which sent the names of referees that we disclosed. After all, the same federation appointed a UEFA B-class referee for the recent Panathinaikos-AEK derby.

• The entire process of appointing a referee, appointing KED/EPO members and appointing referees is in accordance with the FIFA, UEFA regulations, the EPO refereeing regulation and the Federation’s statutes. Who exactly is “the institution” that is daily humiliated?