Although in its official position on Monday the EPO left the window half-open for assisting Super League 1 in the process of selecting foreign referees for the play-offs, in a statement yesterday it ruled out any possibility of outside interference, citing international rules:

“Regarding the offer of SL1 President Mr. Marinaka to help find the elite referees for the derby, we have to clarify the following. 1. According to the FIFA Refereeing Regulations, article 12.1: “… no club, league or other part of the confederation may interfere with the appointment of referees.”

2. In accordance with the UEFA Refereeing Agreement, section Annex A A.6, paragraphs 1, 10 and 12: “The appointment of referees and observers is a fundamental condition for professional advancement and their appointment must be subject to a decision by the Referee Committee and the Arbitration Department (Federation).

Based on the foregoing, it is clear that any interference or participation in this process by any third party is absolutely not subject to the regulations of UEFA and FIFA, since, according to these regulations, only CED/EPO has such powers and no one else. .

A critical point in any attempt to defuse tensions will be Steve Bennett’s meeting next Monday with the playoff team presidents, the context of the meeting has not yet been determined, and it is unclear whether the invitation will be accepted from the 6 groups.

It is extremely doubtful, for example, whether Olympiakos will cooperate with a person who discredited him and described him in every possible way as “incompetent”.

The official position of the teams is expected within the next few days, possibly several behind-the-scenes processes.

The climate remains very difficult: President Ari Theodoros Karipidis yesterday launched a fierce attack on Baltakov, Bennett and Lucescu via SPOR FM 94.6.

“At some point, he will also leave, and you will find something else that will spoil us … the Swiss championship,” said, in particular, PAOK public relations manager Kyriakos Kyriakos.