Kougias close to plunging AEL into the abyss
 

It’s trouble time in Larissa, as AEL owner Alexis Kougias handed in the players’ registration cards to the Hellenic Football Federation (EPO) while revealing his intentions to leave the organisation.

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67-year old Kougias, who is not a popular figure among AEL fans, is no stranger to controversy, but he has taken his antics to a new level this time. After losing to PAOK 1:2 in Thessaloniki, Kougias visited the EPO’s offices on Monday morning, handing in the players’ registration cards which suggests AEL will play no further part in the 2018/2019 Super League. At this moment in time, there is a possibility AEL will not play against AEK in Larissa on Sunday, and if Kougias goes through with potentially removing the club from the Super League, they will automatically be relegated to the Gamma Ethniki.

The reasons for Kougias’ shocking outburst is his frustration with the standard of refereeing in the Super League. In his opinion, corruption has intentionally stolen points from AEL this season, with the latest installment of unfairness being witnessed against PAOK on Sunday. In a statement, Kougias revealed the reasons behind his decision, and stated that he will leave AEL:

“Yesterday, at the Toumba Stadium, the dirty side of Greek football continued to destroy AEL’s efforts to be a team better than just surviving relegation from the Super League.

I personally, and the history of my club, cannot tolerate the continuation of this mentality. Today, I will submit the footballers’ registration cards to Vitor Melo Pereira and the remaining members of the EPO’s refereeing department. As a direct result of their actions (picking referees for matches), AEL have lost at least 10 points. I will ask the Mayor of Larissa Apostolos Kalogiannis, to whom I will hand over my shares in the organisation, to chair a meeting in which the future of AEL will be decided.”

In the event that Kougias left and AEL departed the Super League midway through the campaign, the consequences would be dire for the club. AEL would be relegated to the Gamma Ethniki, lose six points from the first season in that particular championship (i.e. 2019/2020 Gamma Ethniki), and the club and owner would receive a fine of 100,000 euros.

However, in a twist, the AEL board openly spoke out against Kougias’ actions, pleading with the club owner to stay and allow the players to compete against AEK in the Super League. The board said that Kougias has the full support of everyone involved in the organisation and begged him to go back on his decision and keep his position within AEL.

In a statement released by the AEL board, it was also published that the players’ registration cards will be returned to the club on Tuesday from the EPO.

More developments in Larissa are expected during the course of the week.

By Shaun Nicolaides

Image Source: gazzetta.gr

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