Memorandum. Hard Memorandum. At the level July 2015. This time not (again) in the country, but in the Greek Football Association. The sports federation with the most revenue from any other, that in the last 3 years has evolved into the epitome of mismanagement and waste. As a result, the cashier will not only be … minus, but also the subject to sanctions by international federations, which have recently decided to impose two new entities to oversee the Greek Football Association’s finances and where the money from the programs Forward and Hat Trick goes. And all this, after the letter from Olympiacos, who activated FIFA and UEFA.
On November 26, the the Greek Football Association (GFA) notified its workforce of an approved financial action plan citing financial distress. Plan that actually foresees a reduction in all costs, with the greatest burden falling on ordinary employees. And not to the golden boys of the Federation, whose relentless recruitment over the past 4 years has caused enormous financial losses. This is not something we say, but it comes from a letter from a Greek Football Association employee to the Deputy Minister of Sport, Lefteris Avgenakis.
The letter from the Federation official, pointing out to the Undersecretary that he wishes to remain anonymous, initially states that the Greek Football Association cites as reasons for its financial problems: 1) Failure to sell the television rights of the Greek Cup, 2) Ex – federal coaches allowances (Skibe, Anastasiadis), 3) VAR expenses, 4) Loss of income from the Cup finals that happened without fans 5) Paying Football League referees(!), 6) The inability to use money from FIFA Forward programs.
However, as the letter states, the Greek Football Association in the «action plan» conceals the real causes that led to the financial impasse of the Federation. Mentioning, among other things, political recruitment, newcomers with provocative salaries, the unreasonable cost of the 7-member KED (€ 105,000), the € 350,000 compensation to Giannakis Papadopoulos, the tragic use of the FIFA Forward program
The Greek Football Association official, finally, addressing the minister, calls for help, demanding «the removal of those hired to serve partisan purposes without the necessary qualifications. We call for the protection of real employees. We ask for your help in removing incompatible hires and upgrades of family members of the Executive Committee. We demand meritocracy and RESPECT. »
The shoking emloyee’s letter in detail
Dear Minister,
Just yesterday the Greek Football Association notified the workforce of an approved financial action plan citing financial hardship for the following reasons:
- A) For loss of revenue due to non-sale of TV rights for the Greek Cup. Loss of revenue for which they are responsible when they have for three years depreciated the product with embarrassing finals where people were stabbing each other at foot bridges (2017) and episodes of bodyguards in a closed-door match (2019). At the same time, the marketing department of the Greek Football Association, which is co-responsible, renewed the contracts of Ms Melachrinidou and Ms Vergeti (spouse of Mr Minas Lysandros – Vice President of Greek Football Association) who were hired just a year ago with zero bids and qualifications.
- B) The reasons for the dismissal of coaches and the conclusion of cooperation with new ones. That is, for the enormous compensations (Skibe) they incurred the Federation for dismissal shortly after the renewal of his contract, the hiring of a new coach multiple times the amount he received in his last job (Anastasiadis-PAE Larissa), recruitment of new – the third one coach (Van de Sipp) and two technical directors.
C) Expenses for the VAR (match center – referee training). That is to say, a system that has been received incomplete, with outrageous costs, and which is causing every Greek’s fan outrage in its every use thus far. This constitutes an indirect and explicit state subsidy to the Greek Football Association for having spent € 13.5 million on the supply of equipment provided free of charge to the Greek Football Association.
- D) Loss of revenue from each Greek Cup Final in the last 3 consecutive years. As in (a) above.
- E) Paying debts to Football League referees. The ridiculousness of this argument is obvious and is proved as the outcome was not only expected but also budgeted and not exceptional. It is unthinkable that the Greek Football Association administration would refer to the payment of the referees, which are necessary to run each championship worldwide, as a problem that causes wage reductions.
- F)Unable to use FIFA Forward program money.
The clearest confession that the money of the programs did not go to actions and infrastructure but to salaries and all sorts of unnecessary costs (trips of unnecessary committees, trips with National Presidents of the European Union an EU members for clientelist votes etc.).
As a result of the above, the Greek Football Association declares its intention to renegotiate, apparently to the worst, the Greek Football Association’s collective employment contract and selected contracts with an employee. But the Greek Football Association leaders forgot to state the real reasons of economic collapse of the Greek Football Federation:
-Dozens of recruits of Syrizan party members, whose contracts were renewed just recently although in the beginning there was no need for additional staff. It essentially doubled the Greek Football Association’s salary
-In the same context, the provocative payouts to Dede, Philippousi, Bartz, Coliolio, Tritsoni, Koukoulaki, Pereira, Marin, Lindbergh. All these gentlemen receive multiple money from the EPO President.
-The Greek Football Association Central Arbitration Committee has always been 3-5 members. However, the current Administration has decided to be 7 members and its monthly cost exceeds 105.000 (one hundred and five thousand euros a month because fees are paid for 14 months).
-The payment by Mr Filippoussi (Manager of Kontoni office) with another exorbitant fee as a mere observer in the Normalization Committee (that is, without voting rights and no liability) and his re-appointment to the Greek Football Association with a huge and disproportionate remuneration of his duties.
-The recruitment and subsequent removal of Mr Zisi Vriza, who was either compensated or reportedly continues to be paid while not working at the Greek Football Association.
-The recruitment of Mr Choleva (associate of Vassiliadis), lawyer in the profession, with object the VAR, that is, for a position unrelated to its subject matter, and even against high earnings. Obviously this was not enough as only a few days after hiring him, he was given a multi-thousand euro loan by Greek Football Association which is uncertain if it has been repaid. And despite the obvious failure of system implementation it remains in place.
-The recruitment of Mr Blouna as EU Secretary, with compensation of several thousand euros for 2-3 days’ work per month ie the preparation of meetings) while the Greek Football Association is already paying thousands of euros to Mr Dede as Executive Secretary of the Executive Committee.
Indicatively, the “fat” salaries of all of the above in euro, most of which have no qualifications at all, even standard ones:
DE MELO PEREIRA – VICTOR MANUEL 21.279,14
FERNANDEZ, MARIN – JUAN ANTONIO 14.103,00
VRIZAS ZISIS 12.300.00
DAVAKIS DIMITRIOS 5.440.00
DEDES ALEXANDROS 13.700,00
THEOFILOU JOHN 8.353.00
KALIVAS DIMITRIOS 5.700,00
KOLOLIOS NIKOLAOS 8.500,00
KOUVARAS DIMITRIOS 5.765,79
KOUKOULAKIS MICHAEL 12.282,50
BARTZIS NIKOLAOS 7.175,00
BLOUNAS ATHANASIOS 5.700,00
SISKOU KONSTANTINA 5.400,00
STRATOS TOM 10.183,92
TRITSONIS STAVROS 12.282,50
TSAXILIDIS JOHN 13.200,00
HOLEVAS JOHN 5.660,00
ZELENITSAS HARALAMPOS 3.880,00
APOSTOLIDIS KONSTANTINOS 2.719,00
VERGETI MARIA (school graduate) 1.475,00
GOULE VASILIKI 1.475,00
ZAZOPOULOS AGELOS 2.496,00
IOSIFOGLOU NIKOLAOS 1.820,00
KEHAGIAS NIKOLAOS 3.800,00
LEVENTI EKATERINI 2.382,00
MELAHRINIDOU ELISABETH 3.200,00
PREKATE EMILY 2.528,00
-The compensation of € 350,000, through a compromise, to Mr Giannakis Papadopoulos a few days before the trial. Α former employee who is heard in taped conversations to be involved in online betting while never appeared to Greek Football Association’s offices for work, as they can all confirm.
– Instead of the Greek Football Association documenting his dismissal for this great reason and without compensation, he opted for the incomprehensible, or suspicious, choice of compromise for the unimaginable amount of € 350,000. – The granting of monthly compensation (€ 5,000 net), for the first time in the – The hiring of Ms. Siskou Konstantinas from Mr. Grammenos’
– The retention of the position of Chief Financial Officer of Mr. Yiannis Theofilos, who according to Deloitte’s findings should have been fired three years ago for a significant reason, namely the financial loss of millions of euros of Greek Football Association.
– Failure to file a lawsuit in civil courts to safeguard the interests of the Federation against former Presidents of the Greek Football Association for the loss of many millions of euros caused by the well-known issue with the health card.
– The almost daily and unnecessary visits to the offices of the Federation, for selected members such as Laskaraki, Diakofoti, Vakali, without however having their presence functionally and institutionally necessary, burdening the Federation with costs of tens of thousands of Euros..
– The failure to file a lawsuit for the damage the Federation suffered in the Travel Plan case (ie through Mr Theofilos).
– Contracts with companies:
Security Company
Under the management of Mr. Grammenos, the barrage of direct assignment of two – month contracts with the Private Company of Security Services “Base/Peponakis” concerning the security of the Greek Football Association headquarters continues. The Greek Football Association decision (17.10.2018), fourteenth months after their election, to launch a tender for a lawfull contract award was never carried out, as on the last day of the tender (29.10.2018) it was announced that “the tender is postponed, or cancelled, or something like that”, as the tender structure, as it was announced in its issue, was thought to lead the Greek Football Associationadministration directly to court.
The reason for that was that fraudsters had broken the tender in two stages (Technical Offer and Financial Offer), so that they would be able to inform interested parties about the technical bids (within the tender the most appropriate bid would give a 70% lead for the final assignment to the company that made it), in order for them to be able to tailor their financial offers accordingly.
Those would later be submitted to the Greek Football Association, after the Technical Offers – already known to the Greek Football Association- would have been checked and evaluated (The Technical Offer at 29.10.2018 and the Financial Offer at 14.11.2018).
Within the same tender, the bids (Technical and Financial) would be checked by “A Commission” whose composition was unknown and largely disputed for its adequacy.
Finally, the contract was assigned to NYFC Company, which was once again the only one to continue to the last phase of the tender, and which is directly linked to Base/Peponakis.
Travel Agency
Since its election (18.08.2017) and until May 2018, Grammenos administration continued the “noble” habit of direct assignments to the travel agency G.S. Travel, concerning the travelling and hosting of people and teams, without proceeding for ten months to conduct the required tender, in order to achieve lower fees.
Finally, in May 2018, following a tendering procedure, where information indicates that only one (1) bid was made by G.S. Travel Agency, the Greek Football Association assigned this agency with the total of travel, accommodation and dining services for people and teams. Again it was just one company, one offer, the very same procedure for assigning a contract.
AVANCE
The same tactic of direct assignment to AVANCE company was also followed regarding the transportation services from 18.08.2018 until the meeting of the Executive Committee of the Greek Football Association at 25.10.2018, when the same company was awarded the contract from the supposed tender which was announced and to which, miraculously, only AVANCE had submitted a tender!
Who will help ordinary Greek Football Association employees? What to negotiate with a staff association when its Secretary is a relative of a member of the Executive Committee? When the courtiers are now 40% of the staff and will they serve the wishes of those who brought them? All of this was planned from the beginning and executed accurately by Executive Secretary Alexis Dedes, who is involved in serious decisions without the requisite educational background and with serious responsibilities for the current state of the Federation (both financially and administratively). Will the ones responsible for the current situation be able to solve it?
Dear Minister, we call for help. We demand that all those who were hired to serve party purposes without the necessary qualifications be removed from the Greek Football Association. We demand that the label of the Greek Football Association lucrative and fat payers be left for exclusively specific people. Fifteen people cost as much as all the staff. We call for the protection of the true employees that has consistently served the Federation and Greek football. We ask for your help in removing incompatible hires and upgrades of family members of the Executive Committee. We demand meritocracy and RESPECT.
With the honor of an Greek Football Association employee, I wish to remain anonymous to protect my family as I make a living from my job at Greek Football Association.
Athens, 27/11/2019
