Date set for trial of Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis’ High Court libel claim | OneFootball

The High Court libel claim brought by Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis is listed for a 10 day trial from 8 March 2027, following an April order by Mrs Justice Steyn, according to Nottingham Post.

Marinakis, also owner of Olympiacos, is suing Eirini Karypidou, chair of Aris, plus Israeli consultant Ari Harow and Sheyaan Consulting Limited, over allegations of match fixing and links to a high profile drug trafficking case, which he denies. He seeks between £1 million and £5 million in damages.

Mr Justice Johnson has ruled on preliminary issues, including the natural and ordinary meaning of the publications and whether they were fact or opinion. He found they carried a defamatory meaning, while stressing this did not decide the claim or the truth of the allegations.

The claim covers material posted between November 2023 and March 2024 on a website and social media. Three articles appeared on nottinghamforestfire.co.uk in November, X posts followed in December, and six YouTube videos were uploaded, including titles Marinakis Match Fixer and Marinakis Drug Smuggler. Mobile billboards were driven around the City Ground on two match days, and the website and accounts were later removed.

Karypidou is defending the claim on truth and public interest grounds, and Harow and Sheyaan also oppose it. At a previous hearing it was stated that she paid an American PR firm 25,000 US dollars, loaned by a company she headed, to create the publications.

Her case traces the dispute to an Olympiacos v Aris match in 2022-23, alleging Marinakis tried to fix a critical game, which Theodoros Karypidou rejected. The match finished 2-2 and Olympiacos ended third. She further alleges threats during and after the game and a subsequent campaign of intimidation, and says the damages sought are disproportionate.

A further hearing could take place later this year.

Source: Nottingham Post