Basketgate: New testimony implicates Papapertou, Kroromilas and Liolios in bribery
Three new figures have given testimony to the sports prosecutor regarding the scandal in Greek basketball, worsening the position of the accused.
Three new testimonies harden 'basketgate'
Three further figures from Greek basketball have testified before the sports prosecutor, completing the puzzle of the match-fixing scandal, according to Newsit.gr. The new testimonies further worsen the position of the accused.
"Mr Grammarios"
A central element of one of the testimonies is the nickname "Grammarios", with which the accused Petros Papapertou is said to be known—a former international referee and from September 2025 national referee instructor. According to the witness, Papapertou had sent messages to Vangelis Papadopoulos, former manager of Lavrio's team, in which he asked him: "Give me 500 – 1,000, or 1,500", meaning euros. This reputation, as the witness emphasises, had been attributed to him "at the choice of Mr Liolios".
€10,000 for "5-6 whistles"
The same witness provides evidence that also implicates Ilias Kroromilas, also an accused in the case. He describes a match in a major sports event abroad, in which a Ukrainian referee told him that he had received an offer of €10,000 to influence the refereeing in favour of UNICS Kazan. "He approached him and told him that he had received an offer of €10,000, with the aim of influencing the refereeing in favour of UNICS Kazan," the Greek former referee conveyed to the prosecutor. Kroromilas is said to have asked for "5-6 whistles" in exchange for this amount.
The former Prometheus coach "gives" Liolios, Tsaroukha and Papapertou
The file also includes testimony from Ilias Papatheodorou, former coach of Prometheus Patras. According to this, the current president of the Hellenic Basketball Federation Evangelos Liolios had "theoretically transferred" his shares in Prometheus to assume the presidency of the EBF, while at the same time trusting certain referees for "crucial matches-derbies". "Mr Evangelos Liolios had commented to him that he trusted certain referees who could carry out important and crucial matches," states the testimony. The names cited are Vasiliki Tsaroukha, Petros Papapertou and two other individuals with the initials E.Ch. and S.M.
Source: Newsit.gr