The 27-year-old Frenchman talks about his…adventure in Greece due to a bad manager in an article on the International Association of Professional Footballers (FIFPRO) website today (13/3) Antoine Lemarywho joined in January Panic, but after a week left, continuing to complain.

The article, which FIFPRO notes “is a warning to other footballers” and is titled: “Antoine Lemary reveals how a bad manager got him to the worst club”.

“The intermediary who found my number and texted me, which I saw only after the end of training. He was so impatient that he had already sent me ten more messages and added another intermediary to the conversation, saying that I was not serious because I did not answer. He didn’t even introduce himself, but he wanted me to send him my passport details.

I didn’t have a good feeling, but the contract offer from Panileiakos was good, the salary was good and I was happy to go to Greece because I was looking for something new after three years in the Finnish third division.

I asked another to consider the offer. The latter made two remarks to him, the intermediary managed to correct the contract, including an advance payment of 2,000 euros. We were surprised that everything went so smoothly.

I also checked his social media account. He has published many deals. I finally realized that these posts were false. I have already announced my membership in Panileiakos, although an agreement has not yet been reached. I didn’t know the club. I searched for information on the Internet, but never had direct contact with them.

I thought: I don’t like this guy, but if everything goes according to plan, I simply have to pay him a commission, ”Lemarie wrote. “Then he suddenly said that I had to pay for the flight because the club refused to do it, and he didn’t want to pay because another player cheated him by not going. It was all very strange, but I took a chance.

After a five-hour bus ride from Athens airport – he could have let me know sooner – the sports director met me and showed me to my apartment. It was already night. When I woke up the next morning, I realized how dirty everything was: there were cockroaches in the drawers, there was no hot water in the shower, part of the wall fell on me.

Meals were included in my contract, but the club only offered me one meal that day. My apartment also didn’t have a kitchen so I could cook my own meals. The training was at an amateur level: holes in the grass, broken lanterns. We trained at dusk, something dangerous.

But the worst thing was that some of my new teammates immediately told me that they weren’t getting paid and that many of the legionnaires had already left. The Greek players also had problems. On the second day, one of the Brazilian players left.

Although I didn’t receive the €2,000 deposit I was promised, they wanted me to play the game on Sunday, four days after my arrival. I thought: I won’t play until I get paid. But he changed his mind when he noticed the atmosphere in the stadium and was told that everything would be fixed the next day. I played 70 minutes.

During the break, I saw something unusual: another Brazilian player was attacked by the president and his bodyguard. The player was shocked and collected his things. Too much happened to him in the four months he spent there: he was not paid, his passport was taken away at the club, he was returned only after his manager threatened to call the police. And then the president attacked him,” added the 27-year-old Frenchman.

“I got it too. It was too much. Money didn’t matter. On Tuesday I told the president and the sporting director that I wanted to leave. The president wanted to give me some money, much less than the 2,000 euros he owes me, but I didn’t I just asked him to let me switch to a free transfer.

I was lied to again, saying that I have to wait because they don’t have my documents yet. They also said that I was playing the game with the permission of another player. i went to her office Hellenic Football FederationI received my documents and made an appointment to sign the papers.

They wanted to come to the apartment to collect the keys, but I waited outside, not wanting to join them inside. You never know what might happen there. The President arrived first, I showed him the paper and asked him to sign. He became furious.

Then we waited until the sports director came, who spoke English. They didn’t want to sign. The President went berserk. He pushed me against the fence, grabbed me by the neck and rummaged through my pockets for my keys. Then her bodyguard showed up. The situation was becoming very dangerous. I handed over the keys and quit the company.

I packed my things and left Athens as soon as possible. I recorded the incident on my phone and they didn’t notice. I think the president said to me in Greek: “I will hang you by your feet” and “I will beat you.” They reported my case on social media and it was picked up by the media,” he continued.

“I got a little paranoid because I didn’t know how far the power of these people extended and I still had to wait a day to fly home. After all, this adventure cost me money: the club did not pay me, and I myself paid for the tickets and the extra night I spent in Athens.

I heard that after my departure, the Panileyako players refused to train and argued with the coach for a long time. They also spoke to the fans who came to the stadium to find out if my case was true. Apparently, the fans said they would try to change something. It would be great if that happened. I wouldn’t go through all this for nothing.

I’m still hoping to find a new club. I can play anywhere but Greece because the president hasn’t signed the papers. I received messages from other players saying that they too were scammed by the intermediary and had to pay money to him. I was lucky that I agreed to pay him only after I would have signed a contract with the club: he did not charge me anything.

Every week I get messages from people on LinkedIn and other social networks with offers or contracts after the trial period, but you have to be very careful and know who you trust.

Next time I’ll trust my intuition. I immediately suspected that the intermediary was a swindler, that he was treating me like a piece of meat. My brother even advised me not to go to Greece because of all the strange things that happened before I left. I should have noticed the red flags.

I understand that I can be on top, especially when looking for a new club. But you must understand that you can be easily deceived. So my message to other players is to be careful and ask your club for advice. Next time I will only work with someone I trust.”

Source: RES-IPE