Football
ESPN staff 6y

Olympiakos players fined, sent on holiday following poor results

Olympiakos owner Evangelos Marinakis has fined his players €400,000 and ordered some of them to go on holiday until the end of the season after a draw left the defending Greek Superleague champions third in the table.

Marinakis, who also owns Nottingham Forest, said he will call up players from the club's under-20 squad for the final four games following the 1-1 draw against Levadiakos on Saturday.

"I will build Olympiakos from the beginning and it will become the team we are dreaming of," Marinakis told the players, according to AFP. "I and the rest of the fans have tolerated you enough. You will leave today and go on holiday."

Olympiakos, who have won the last seven league titles, have not been defeated in their last six games but they trail leaders AEK Athens by three points.

Marinakis told the players the €400,000 fine was for Saturday's draw and for the 1-1 draw against Panathinaikos on March 3 in which their rivals equalised on an 87th-minute penalty.

"The amateur teams live with the basics," Marinakis said. "They love Olympiakos and their supporters much more than you do. [You think about] the nice houses you live in and your cars and don't care about the team.

"I pay millions for you to have everything. With your actions, I fired three coaches, but at the end it looks like you were at fault."

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