Nottingham Forest's owner has eye bruised in physical altercation during basketball match
Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis has been involved in a physical confrontation with Grigoris Dimitriadis, the nephew of the Greek Prime Minister, having his shirt ripped and his eye bruised.
The 58-year-old clashed with Dimitriadis, 47, in the VIP area of the Peace and Friendship Stadium ahead of Sunday's EuroLeague final between Olympiacos and Real Madrid.
The incident occurred mere hours after Forest's Premier League season had concluded.
Security camera footage captured Marinakis approaching Dimitriadis and appearing to whisper to him before delivering what looked like a slap to his face.
Dimitriadis responded immediately with a punch, setting off a brawl that left onlookers stunned.
Security personnel and aides swiftly intervened to separate the two men, though both continued hurling abuse at one another across a barrier as staff battled to restore calm.
Olympiacos vice president Kostas Karapapas was also drawn into the verbal exchange.
The altercation left Marinakis' white shirt partially ripped, and photographs taken afterwards showed visible bruising near his right eye.
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According to local media reports, the confrontation arose from an ongoing feud between competing political and sporting factions at the high-profile event.
Despite the pre-match drama, Marinakis's evening ended on a positive note as Olympiacos secured a 92-85 victory over Real Madrid.
Marinakis ranks among Greece's most contentious business figures, with a portfolio encompassing shipping, media and football.
He established Capital Maritime & Trading Corp, controls Alter Ego Media, and holds majority stakes in both Nottingham Forest and Olympiacos.
Marinakis endured a turbulent campaign at the City Ground, where he employed four different managers throughout the season: Nuno Espirito Santo, Ange Postecoglou, Sean Dyche and Vitor Pereira.
Forest narrowly avoided the drop, finishing 16th in the Premier League, while their Europa League run ended in disappointment with a 4-1 aggregate defeat to Aston Villa at the semi-final stage.
In April, Marinakis reduced his involvement at the Midlands club due to potential Champions League qualification through European competition, as Uefa regulations prohibit commonly owned clubs from competing in the same tournament.
Olympiacos finished runners-up in the Greek Super League, securing entry to the Champions League third qualifying round, whilst Forest face a season without continental football.
Pereria has called for stability at Forest after guiding them to safety.
He said: "We need stability. In my opinion, now we have created the true spirit. We have friendship and we feel confidence in each other. They believe in the staff and we believe in the players.
"They feel we are here to help them. We are not here to criticise. When they are not at their best level, we are here to try to help them to be at their best level. With tactical work, creating the spirit to fight and to play. With time, we can be stronger next season.
"When I say it is important to have the players to work and to prepare for the first games in the league, that is what I believe."
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