Olympiacos v Villa Pre-match Thread

[Clark W Griswold]

Perhaps we could demand a rematch due to the compromised integrity?

[Demitri_C]

The social media keeps hyping the players will give everything Thursday night. I bloody hope so if we gonna gi out lets gi oyt fighting not like defeated losers.

If we score early the nerves will hit them

[DeKuip]

18:00 is the coach meet at Panathinaikos ground for this. Seems really early to me, unless it's a bit like Warsaw and the first busses leave at 18:00. Why you'd want to be inside a ground 3 hours + before hand I don't know.

Don’t get going to Panathinaikos’s ground! Hope nobody makes that mistake. Look for a big horseshoe shape stadium with terracing around a very tight narrow running track, lots of flagpoles, the Olympic rings and more marble than Highbury. The main giveaway though will be lots of Villa fans and a long row of coaches.

[Ads]

18:00 is the coach meet at Panathinaikos ground for this. Seems really early to me, unless it's a bit like Warsaw and the first busses leave at 18:00. Why you'd want to be inside a ground 3 hours + before hand I don't know.

Subtle difference as it’s Panathenaic Stadium rather than Panathinaikos ground.

Ah misread. Handy as I'm staying not too far from there and I'm planning to do the 07:30 run that they let you do for €10. A bit different running a 2000+ year old stadium than Sutton Leisure Centre St Helens.

[Somniloquism]

How on earth is he still reffing with essentially a criminal record for fraud .

One, is not a criminal record as it wasn't a criminal offence.

Two, Because as a young linesman just coming through and with a senior referee who could make or break him, he accepted 300 euros not to question any decisions he might make. The investigation into that match seemed to show no actual dodgy decisions were made in the end (I'm guessing the result went the way the ref wanted). So as a whilsteblower and someone who had done it once with no actual action on the result, I suspect they decided a 6 month ban was enough. And after 20 years, and only one disgruntled Bellingham tweet, I also suspect nothing shows any more match fixing.

[Small Rodent]

It’s not the same ref as last week now, I’ve just read. Felix Swayer is now the ref.

Having previously served a six month ban for match fixing.

Oh ffs you couldn’t make this shit up

I think he has.

It’s okay, he’s German. The British and Germans are not natural enemies.

I read that somewhere.

Probably something to do with English being a Germanic language.

Our shared love of sausages

I expected our intelligent community on here to understand it as a Hitler quote.

Never mind.

[Mister E]

I expected our intelligent community on here to understand it as a Hitler quote.

Never mind.

Your struggle ...

[Ben1505p]

Why can't we contest this?

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2024/05/07/aston-villa-olympiacos-conference-semi-referee-match-fixer/

[Somniloquism]

Because there is nothing to contest.

[Bad English]

Why can't we contest this?

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2024/05/07/aston-villa-olympiacos-conference-semi-referee-match-fixer/

Injuries, fatigue...

[olaftab]

18:00 is the coach meet at Panathinaikos ground for this. Seems really early to me, unless it's a bit like Warsaw and the first busses leave at 18:00. Why you'd want to be inside a ground 3 hours + before hand I don't know.

Subtle difference as it’s Panathenaic Stadium rather than Panathinaikos ground.

Ah misread. Handy as I'm staying not too far from there and I'm planning to do the 07:30 run that they let you do for €10. A bit different running a 2000+ year old stadium than Sutton Leisure Centre St Helens.

That’s an experience. Enjoy.

[Ben1505p]

Because there is nothing to contest.

UEFA Secretary with direct links to Olympiacos

Corrupt referee appointed

You don't see this reeks of a set up?

[coreyfeldman]

Because there is nothing to contest.

UEFA Secretary with direct links to Olympiacos

Corrupt referee appointed

You don't see this reeks of a set up?

The final being in athens also...

[dorsetvillian]

Enjoy the run Ads. A couple of us did a run around the old city walls in Lille on the morning of the match.

[Holte L2]

I don't know how people get the time or money to go to these games , wish i could . I imagine some fans have done them all too from Hibs to Athens .

I've done 4/7.  Legia, Alkmaar, Ajax.and Lille.Achieved via Remote working and budgeting carefully.

A few friends of mine have done them all. One is retired. The other is single! Enough said.

I've been lucky enough to get to all of them as I've been retired for nearly 10 years. If I'd been working there's no way I would have been able to attend any of the away games at all.

Fair play must have cost a few bob. Will you be doing it again next season ?

Yes. The wife has already been given the heads up!