Greece, UEFA vow to clean up Greek football

ATHENS: The Greek government on Tuesday signed an accord with UEFA to clean up Greek football, seeking ways to tackle the threat posed by corruption, match-fixing and other problems.

"We’ve taken a political decision to clean up Greek football for good and we are very much looking to your assistance in proceeding down that path," Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told UEFA chief Aleksander Ceferin.

The declaration of intent signed by the two men watched by FIFA vice president Greg Clarke "demonstrates our commitment to make significant improvements and upgrading Greek football..." said Mitsotakis.

UEFA intends to produce a report within three months on ways to improve the administration of Greek football. Challenges include finding ways to fight the threat of match-fixing, corruption and doping as well as refereeing issues. Match officials went on strike in 2018 and threatened a strike in January after attacks on referees and their homes and an attempt by Olympiakos to sue five referees. The meeting between the Greek government and world and European football administrators came two days after the league match between the country’s top clubs, PAOK Thessaloniki and Olympiakos Piraeus. The rivalry between the two sides exemplifies the challenges faced by the game in Greece.