Trial date for Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis’ High Court libel claim set

The trial of the libel claim brought by Nottingham Forest FC owner Evangelos Marinakis against his Greek football rival in the High Court is due to take place in 2027.

Mr Marinakis, who also owns Greek club Olympiacos, is suing Eirini Karypidou, the chairman of Greek Super League rivals Aris, over a number of “false” allegations, including that he was involved in match-fixing and was involved in a high-profile drug trafficking case in the country, which he denies.

He is also suing Israeli political consultant Ari Harow and his company Sheyaan Consulting Limited, who Mr Marinakis’ lawyers claim were involved in the “creation and implementation” of the “smear” campaign in which the allegations were published on social media and online.

Ms Karypidou’s lawyers had told an earlier hearing that she had paid US$25,000 (£19,350) to an American public relations firm, which was loaned to her by a company she chaired to create the publications.

However, Ms Karypidou defends the case on the grounds that the allegations are true and in the public interest; Mr Harow and Sheyaan Consulting also dispute the claim.

On Wednesday, Mr Justice Johnson ruled on several preliminary issues in the case, including the “natural and ordinary meaning” of the allegations at the heart of the claim and whether they were fact or expressions of opinion.

In his 20-page ruling, the judge said Mr Marinakis was seeking damages of between £1 million and £5 million and claimed the allegations against him had “caused serious damage to reputation”.

He continued that the publications were defamatory, but that his decision “does not decide who will succeed in the claim, nor whether the plaintiff is guilty of the conduct alleged in the publications which form the basis of the claim.”

In a court order handed down in April, Ms Justice Steyn said a 10-day hearing into the claim was scheduled to begin on March 8, 2027.

In his ruling, Mr Justice Johnson said Mr Marinakis had filed a lawsuit over allegations made on a website, social media and mobile billboards between November 2023 and March 2024, which he rejected.

These included three articles published in November 2023 on the website “nottinghamforestfire.co.uk”.

In December 2023, several posts were also published on X and six YouTube videos were uploaded, two of which were titled “Marinakis Match Fixer” and “Marinakis Drug Trafficker”.

The claims were also displayed on mobile billboards that circulated around Nottingham Forest’s stadium, the City Ground, over the two matchdays.

Later, the YouTube channel, X account and website were closed.

In written submissions for the hearing in 2024, David Sherborne, on behalf of Mr Marinakis, said the “highly defamatory” allegations were “completely unfounded”.

Among them, he said, Mr Marinakis was a “leader of a criminal organisation” and was “guilty of match-fixing practices, including extortion, fraud and arson”, among others.

Matthew Hodson, for Ms Karypidou, told the previous hearing that the social media campaign had “limited coverage” and had a “pathetic outcome” and that there was no evidence of “real harm” to Mr Marinakis’ reputation.

He stated that the dispute arose from an incident during a match between Olympiacos and Aris, which Ms. Karypidou managed together with her brother Theodoros.

During the 2022-23 season, Mr Marinakis allegedly approached Mr Karypidou to fix a “critical” match between the teams for Olympiacos to win.

Mr Karypidou refused and the match ended 2-2 with Olympiacos, who had won the league in the previous three seasons, finishing the season in third place.

Mr Hodson said: “During the match, Mr Marinakis became so angry that, according to Ms Karypidou, he threatened that Theodoros would ‘not leave the pitch alive’ if Olympiacos lost.

“At the end of the play, Mr. Marinakis said to Theodoros, ‘you are finished’ and ‘I will destroy you.’

“Thereafter, Mr. Marinakis began a campaign of intimidation and interference in the lives and affairs of Ms. Karypidou and her brother.”

He continued that the damages sought in the defamation claim were “wholly disproportionate”.

A judge said last year that Mr Marinakis “denies waging a campaign of harassment” against Ms Karypidou and her family.

Greek media had also previously reported that he was acquitted by a Greek court in 2021 of match-fixing charges and in 2024 of involvement in a drug trafficking case.

Another hearing on the claim could be held later this year.