Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis was seen on the pitch at full-time after his Olympiacos side held on for a 4-2 win against Aston Villa in the semi-finals of the Europa Conference League.
The shipping and media mogul owns both Premier League sides Olympiacos and Portugal’s Rio Ave, and was spotted high-fiving by visiting fans at Villa Park after the Greek side survived a revival from Unai Emery’s side.
Villa, who have had a sensational season and climbed to fourth in the Premier League standings, are on the verge of reaching their first European final since winning the European Cup in 1982.
But Olympiacos put a huge dent in their hopes of winning silver this season, with Ayoub El Kaabi scoring twice in the opening 30 minutes of the match to give the visitors a commanding lead. Euro hopeful Olli Watkins would pull a goal back for Villa on the stroke of half-time after Moussa Diaby played him through on goal.
Despite Villa’s revival, El Kaabi and Santiago Hezze each hit back with a goal, restoring the visitors’ two-goal lead. Douglas Luiz had a chance to pull a goal back from the penalty spot, but his shot went wide of the right post.
Evangelos Marinakis was pictured on the pitch as his side Olympiacos defeated Aston Villa
He went to the Olympiakos fans and celebrated by pumping his fist in the air
Marinakis, meanwhile, has been embroiled in Nottingham Forest’s explosive tirade against Premier League officials following their 2-0 defeat to Everton. He was reportedly behind the club’s social media post that sparked outrage across the league.
The Greek entrepreneur became owner of Nottingham Forest in May 2017 following a £50million takeover of the two-time European Cup winners.
The 56-year-old had previously taken charge of Olympiacos in 2010 in the wake of the country’s financial crisis, and as club president the side won the Greek top flight seven times.
He said he bought the club because of his love for Olympiacos, which reportedly has a “special place in his heart.”
This was evident on Thursday, when the club owner walked to celebrate and embrace the Olympiacos fans left behind after the epic match.
Under Marinakis, the club has undergone a team change in recent times, attracting some big names from the world of football to their ranks, including Marcelo and James Rodriguez.
His other club, Forest, are currently in danger of relegation and are also facing a four-point deduction for breaching the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules – which they are appealing.
Marinakis took over Forest in May 2017 and oversaw their promotion to the Premier League
The Olympiacos owner was also at the center of Forest’s explosive social media posts
The Greek media mogul owns three clubs, including Nottingham Forest and Olympiacos
Nottingham Forest said in an explosive statement that they had warned PGMOL on Sunday not to have Attwell as VAR
Ayoub El Kaabi scored twice within 30 minutes to put the visitors ahead throughout the match
Olympiakos fans were in full force at Villa Park for the Europa Conference League semi-final
Forest raised eyebrows last week after taking to social media to take several refereed penalties during the match, while also questioning the loyalty of the games VAR, who was reportedly a Luton fan.
The explosive post on
‘We were warned by the PGMOL before the match that the VAR is a Luton fan, but they didn’t replace him. Our patience has been tested several times.
“NFFC will now consider its options,” it added.
Referee chief Howard Webb eventually admitted that Forest should have been awarded a penalty in their favor during the match and it was also confirmed that Forest would be sent audio of the VAR recordings of the match.
Many from across the Premier League have taken to Twitter to share their views on Forest’s antics, including Pep Guardiola who ‘strongly disagrees’ with Marinakis’ side’s accusations of bias towards the Premier League.
After trailing 2-0, Unai Emery’s team made a sensational comeback to level at 2-2
Ollie Watkins scored before half-time and scored a second goal after half-time
“I absolutely disagree,” Guardiola said. ‘The referees want to do their job as best as possible. They feel the pressure, we put pressure on them because of the passion of the game at that moment.
‘But as I sit here thinking, they are doing their best and they are being scrutinized with the cameras there. When they make a mistake, they feel bad. It is normal.
‘They do the work, they want to do it well. The game is so difficult, it is fast and fast, decisions have to be made in one moment. It is not easy.’