It’s fair to say that Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis gets a bit of a raw deal from people outside of the City Ground.
Fans are indebted to the Greek businessman who, since coming to the club, has funded new players, written off millions of pounds in debt and delivered Premier League football back to the banks of the River Trent.
Forest are just three years into their Premier League journey, having been absent for 23 years, but with the financial backing of Marinakis and the brilliance of head coach Nuno Espirito Santo, the club are looking forward to European nights gracing the City Ground once again.
Marinakis has Olympiacos among his portfolio of clubs and on Saturday, the Forest owner did something that offered an insight into what he’s really like to anybody still unsure about the owner and what he’s like as a person.
Photo by Michael Regan - The FA/The FA via Getty Images
Photo by Michael Regan – The FA/The FA via Getty Images
Evangelos Marinakis dispels myth with classy gesture
On the continent, it’s not uncommon for owners to leave the director’s box and head pitchside to congratulate or sympathise with the team following a win or a defeat, respectively. However, in England, it’s somewhat frowned upon.
Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher were unhappy with Marinakis after he headed onto the pitch after a recent 2-2 draw with Leicester. However, that was all a bit of a misunderstanding, with Marinakis keen to discover what had happened to the stricken Taiwo Awoniyi and now vent frustration with Espirito Santo.
On Saturday, Olympiacos completed the league and cup double by winning the Greek Cup final 2-0 against OFI Crete. Afterwards, Marinakis was on the pitch, but he enjoyed a classy embrace with the owner of the opposition, and nobody batted an eyelid.
The two owners stood alongside each other as the presentation was made after the contest and clearly there is a lot of respect between Marinakis and the President of Crete, Michael Bousis.
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It’s hard to knock Marinakis for the ambition he has showcased from the moment he walked through the door at Forest. Promotion to the Premier League might have taken some time but ultimately, he’s stayed true to his word.
In an interview with Jim White, the day after the Play-Off Final at Wembley, Marinakis was asked what was next. The Forest owner wasn’t in the mood for playing things down and insisted that the Reds would look to challenge for titles and wouldn’t be in the top-flight to make up the numbers.
In three years, Forest have stayed up, developed a squad with young and hungry players, reached the semi-final of both domestic cup competitions and will now play in European football for the first time in 30 years next season.
Hopefully, soon the perception from outsiders of Marinakis will start to change and he begins to get the credit which he truly deserves for his efforts at the football club.