A serious scandal rocked Greek volleyball at the very beginning of the 2026/2027 season. A state subsidy of 100,000 euros, granted for equipping the Panathinaikos hall, provoked a sharp reaction from their big rival Olympiacos, whose team includes Bulgarian national player Martin Atanasov. The conflict escalated into an exchange of official declarations, accusations of preferential treatment, and disputes over state funding for sports infrastructure.
As reported by the Greek publication Gazzetta, at the heart of the dispute are 100,000 euros provided by the General Secretariat for Sports of Greece for the purchase of specialized volleyball flooring, LED lighting, and a video review system for the municipal hall "Metz" in Athens, where Panathinaikos hosts its games.
As early as October 21, the organizer of the men's championship, ESAP, raised the issue of equality among the participants in the championship. The other clubs insisted on receiving similar financial support, as some of them had already purchased the necessary equipment with their own funds.
According to ESAP, Panathinaikos was offered to distribute part of the received amount among the other clubs, but the Athenian grand club refused.
On November 2, Olympiacos issued a strong statement, directed not only against its traditional rival but also against Deputy Minister of Sports Yiannis Vroutsis.
The club from Piraeus accused state institutions of unequal treatment and questioned why one participant in the championship receives a targeted subsidy, while the others continue to await a decision on their requests for financial support.
Olympiacos insisted on transparency, fairness, and equal conditions for all participants in the championship, accusing institutions of a selective approach in the allocation of public funds.
The club's management went even further, linking the current case to its previous accusations of financial rule violations and insisting on the return of titles it considers to have been won under unequal conditions.
On November 3, Panathinaikos responded with an equally sharp statement, reported by Gazzetta and the specialized publicationVolleynews.gr.
The Athenian club rejected the accusations, emphasizing that the state subsidy was not intended for salaries, transfers, or the ongoing maintenance of the volleyball team.
According to Panathinaikos, the purchased equipment will remain in the municipal facility and can be used by all sports organizations that conduct activities in the hall.
The club clarified that they have four hours daily for training their two volleyball teams, and the facility is also used for basketball, handball, futsal, sports for people with disabilities, and other activities.
Panathinaikos also pointed out that the installation and dismantling of the specialized flooring alone cost over 30,000 euros, and in the last three years, the club has invested an additional approximately 100,000 euros in improvements to the hall.
But instead of ending, the conflict also extended to the conditions under which the two grand clubs use their sports facilities.
Panathinaikos raised the question of the 800 euro rent, which, according to the club, Olympiacos pays for the hall in Rentis.
For its part, the club from Piraeus highlights significant investments in the modernization and maintenance of the facility, which, according to its claims, amount to approximately 150,000 euros annually.
The exchange of accusations continued late in the evening on November 3.
In a new statement published by Gazzetta at 22:13, Olympiacos responded to Panathinaikos, expanding the conflict far beyond the 'Metz' volleyball hall.
The club from Piraeus described the project for a new sports complex in Votanikos as 'the biggest scandal in the history of Greek sports'.
This is an accusation by Olympiacos, not an established violation, but it shows the extent to which the dispute over 100,000 euros has strained relations between the two historical rivals.
In its latest statement, Olympiacos also referred to its superiority in terms of titles won in team sports, responding to Panathinaikos' accusations of sporting failures.

The Municipality of Athens also intervened in the conflict.

Late in the evening on November 3, the dispute took a new turn after the Municipality of Athens and the Municipal Organization for Culture, Sports and Youth (OPANDA) issued a joint official position.
As reported by the Greek publication SDNA, local authorities confirmed that the video review system in the 'Metz' hall has already been installed, and the new specialized volleyball flooring is yet to be laid.
The municipality clarified that Panathinaikos will fully cover the costs of installing, dismantling, and storing the flooring. This does not include the cost of its purchase, which is part of state funding.
After the necessary procedures are completed, the equipment will be provided to the municipal sports organization and will remain in the facility even if the Athenian grand club ceases to use it.
Local authorities also emphasized that the hall is used by 15 sports organizations, and the investment is aimed at improving municipal infrastructure, not at granting exclusive rights to Panathinaikos.
Thus, the official position of the municipality confirms some of the arguments of the Athenian club, but does not provide a definitive answer to the main question posed by Olympiacos – why exactly this facility receives state support, while other clubs insist on analogous funding.
For the Bulgarian public, the case also has a direct connection with Martin Atanasov. The national outside hitter joined Olympiacos in the summer of 2026 and is part of the club's selection, which is once again chasing the championship title.
It is curious that on November 14, Panathinaikos and Olympiacos will face each other precisely in the 'Metz' hall, in their first derby of the new season. The match from the fourth round of the Greek championship will take place just ten days after the outbreak of the scandal and promises additional tension between the two traditional rivals.
The case raises a question that goes beyond the rivalry between the two Greek giants: where is the line between state support for sports infrastructure and granting a competitive advantage to a specific club?
While Panathinaikos insists that the funds are invested in a municipal facility accessible to numerous sports organizations, Olympiacos defines the funding as a violation of the principle of equality.
And after the latest exchange of statements and the intervention of the Municipality of Athens, it is clear that the scandal is no longer limited to just a volleyball court and a video review system.