Giannakopoulos on his absence from Kallimarmaro: “I am not allowed to be there as a son for my father”!

In the context of our communication and to avoid any paraphilology that does not befit so sacred an evening, I feel that I must clarify some issues in view of tonight’s event in memory of my father, Pavlos Giannakopoulos, which tens of thousands of citizens will honor from all over Greece in a magnificent evening, as was his personality.

On June 26, I gave explanations before the Sports Prosecutor regarding an offense of the sports law related exclusively to Instagram stories during the Greek championship and only for which I had publicly apologized and which I had retracted long before the start of any proceedings. In a country struggling to deal with massive backlogs in Justice (for reasons apparently unrelated to judicial officers), I THREE WORKING DAYS LATER, I was given a multi-page order which stated (as the Angelopoulos brothers informed us competently) that I am prohibited from entering any sports facility during matches of any sport due to… dangerousness. Out of absolute respect for the judicial authorities and as I have always done, I have instructed my lawyer not to file an appeal against this order, considering of course that a commemorative event under the auspices of the Euroleague (to which the order was not notified) and not the Greek league which related to the facts for which the order was issued, is not covered by it.

Developments, however, belied me, as, as I was informed, the will is that I will not be able to attend with you tonight the memorial service of the man who benefited thousands, inspired so many others and is an example unsurpassed, as he is in danger of being shaken by my presence. I cannot be there as a son for my father. As much as I consider my absence to be unfair and without the existence of a court decision, an extreme punishment, I will accept it, absolutely convinced that Greek justice is performing a great and very very difficult task.

I invite you all to enjoy tonight’s great evening, to behave as befits the memory of the enormous personality of Pavlos Giannakopoulos and I renew our appointment in the next very big ones that we have in store for you. We are Champions everywhere, dominant on the floor and in performance, but above all we are citizens with values ​​and morals on an unstoppable path towards perpetuating the top.

PAULOS GIANNAKOPOULOS.

PRESENT.

Good luck!

PS.1: I’ve been wondering more and more persistently lately what the Angelopoulos brothers were referring to during the press conference which was supposed to be about the truly excellent Sasha Vezenkov, but, as usual, it ended up being about their two favorite topics, Panathinaikos and me personally (with explicit reference also to tonight’s memorial service for my father in Kallimarmaro and … forbidding me to attend it), when they emphatically stated: “You know we’re pretty strong at some things”.