Fixed school basketball championships: allegations of "ghost" students and fraudulent grade points
New allegation in the wake of the arrest of Greek Basketball Federation president Vangelis Liolis: ghost students in private schools obtain points for university entrance exams through fixed matches.
New allegation: ghost students and fraudulent grade points within Greek basketball scandal
The arrest of the president of the Hellenic Basketball Federation (EOK), Vangelis Liolis, along with Vasso Tsarouha, Ilias Koromila, Petros Papapatros, Tassos Piloidis and Giorgos Mavragani for match-fixing has opened a scandal that, according to Ethnos, extends to school basketball championships. Alongside investigations into hundreds of thousands of euros found in the homes of those involved, a new anonymous allegation has brought to light possible irregularities in private schools.
The allegation from the president of OIELE
Giorgos Christopoulos, president of the Federation of Private Educational Practitioners of Greece (OIELE), posted on Facebook describing an anonymous allegation he had received. According to what was reported to him, certain private schools with "notorious and serious track records" allegedly have students who receive diplomas without attending lessons or appearing rarely in class.
The same students, according to the allegation, participate in school basketball championships whose results are fixed through referees. Wins in these championships award points towards university entrance exams, thus opening places in university faculties.
"Extremely serious and unprecedented"
"Late last night I received an anonymous allegation related to the under-investigation EOK president and school basketball championships," Christopoulos wrote. "Fictitious attendance is certainly a very serious matter and we have encountered it in the past. However, I must admit that fixing matches so that certain children obtain fraudulent points in the university entrance exams is something I had never heard of before and it is extremely serious."
The OIELE president emphasised that this claim "calls into question the entire system of grade points, as it undermines equal treatment and transparency and shows that there are 'gaps' in a system we considered beyond reproach."
Awaiting further evidence before reporting to authorities
Christopoulos clarified that he will await additional evidence before proceeding with an official report to the competent authorities. He called, however, on any citizens who have relevant information to contact him, "even anonymously". "This abscess must be lanced," he wrote. "We owe it to the children who work hard to pass into a university and lose their place to fraudsters."
The broader context
The arrests that preceded this relate to match-fixing in basketball at various levels. Hundreds of thousands of euros were found in the homes of some of those arrested, a fact that underscores the scale of the case. The fact that match-fixing allegedly begins already at school level gives the case new dimensions, which go beyond the sporting sphere and touch upon the educational process and access to higher education.
Source: Ethnos