PAOK win CAS appeal, receive seven lost points
PAOK’s appeal has been deemed successful by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), with the organisation moving up to second place of the Super League standings as a result of receiving their seven lost points.
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The Dikefalos tou Vorra are back in pole position for UEFA Champions League qualification. Earlier this year, PAOK were deducted seven points from the Super League by the Hellenic Football Federation, with the organisation having been found guilty of participating in a multi-ownership case with Xanthi. Olympiacos had originally accused PAOK owner, Ivan Savvidis, of holding a stake in Xanthi through a family member.
PAOK subsequently submitted an appeal to the CAS against the decision. For their part, Olympiacos also made an appeal to the same organisation, requesting for PAOK and Xanthi to be relegated. The Hellenic state had previously abolished the relegation punishment for multi-ownership.
On Friday, the CAS announced its decision after reviewing the matter, accepting PAOK’s appeal. Olympiacos’ appeal was declined.
As a consequence of the verdict, PAOK receive their seven points which they had lost, in turn moving three points above AEK in second spot of the standings. The top two positions grant a berth in the Champions League preliminaries.
AEK will host PAOK at the Olympic Stadium in a crucial battle for Champions League football next week. The Enosi recently defeated PAOK 2-0 in Thessaloniki.
The CAS has also recommended the EPO to study the case again.
However, as Xanthi didn’t appeal against their respective 12-point deduction, their punishment will not be overtuned. Holding 23 points, Xanthi are continuing to battle against relegation, with bottom club Panionios still only one point behind. Xanthi were deducted an extra five points after irregularities in their shares were discovered.
