Image included references to accusations that Marinakis had worked covertly with Uefa
The English Football Association (FA) is set to investigate a banner unveiled by Crystal Palace supporters during Sunday’s Premier League match against Nottingham Forest.
The image showed a caricature of Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis holding a gun to the head of midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White.
Beside Gibbs-White was a speech bubble that read: “Mr Marinakis is not involved in blackmail, match-fixing, drug trafficking or corruption!”
It is a reference to allegations directed towards Marinakis in the past, although the Greek businessman has strongly denied them.
In the display, Marinakis was also clutching a briefcase filled with cash, and a Uefa delegate was standing beside him, counting cash. There were bags on the floor marked “correspondence”, and former Palace minority shareholder John Textor was visible, dressed as a clown.
These appear to be references of accusations from Palace fans that Marinakis had worked covertly with Uefa to demote the FA Cup winners from the Europa League and award the spot to Forest.
Aware of the sentiment of many of their supporters, Palace had issued a statement before kick-off reminding fans that “acts of discrimination, including inappropriate chanting, violence and entering the field of play, will not be tolerated at Selhurst Park.”
The game between Palace and Forest ended 1-1.
