The Greek side are facing a battle for the title but a spat between their boss and owner Evangelos Marinakis has gone public
17:39, 24 Mar 2026Updated 19:40, 24 Mar 2026
(Image: Getty Images)
Boss Jose Luis Mendilibar has publicly criticised Olympiacos chiefs and their signing policy after the club’s latest title race stumble.
The public fallout will have Rangers on high alert as the Glasgow giants look to be the club who capitalise on a UEFA loophole to secure automatic entry to next season’s league phase.
The Greek giants leapfrogged the Light Blues in the five-year club coefficient table after securing progress from the league phase with a win over Ajax, but Rangers are back in the fight after a dramatic weekend in Greece.
This year’s Champions League winners will automatically qualify for next season’s league phase, but if the newly-crowned Kings of Europe have already earned a place via their domestic position, then the club with the best individual coefficient of all the domestic champions involved in qualifying will enter directly instead of navigating their original round.
It means Olympiacos and Rangers must win their respective titles to stand a chance.
Just like the fight for the Scottish Premiership, the title race in Greece looks set to go all the way with AEK sitting top and just two points clear of Olympiacos. PAOK are just three points off the summit.
Mendilibar’s men were held to a goalless draw at home to relegation-threatened strugglers AEL heading into the final league split.
A play-off system will decide the title with the top four playing off to decide who becomes champions and which teams qualify for UEFA club competitions.
But going into the final run-in, the gaffer has publicly criticised the signing of Andre Luiz from Rio Ave in January.
Owner Evangelos Marinakis owns a majority stake in the Portuguese side and reports in Portugal suggest he was instrumental in the transfer.
Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis(Image: Getty Images)
But Greek Super League rules dictate that only five players from outside the EU can feature for every side – leaving winger Luiz relegated to the fringes.
He has made just two league appearances for the club and was dropped from the squad for Sunday’s stalemate.
Mendilibar said at full-time: “You all know that we have not done something right as a club. We have seven foreign players and we have the right to use only five.
“It is something that hurts me, it bothers me as a coach, to have to announce to a player that he has to stay out for no reason.
“This is very bad, because if we had him at least on the bench it would have been an additional solution. We have foreign players in all positions, we always have to be in that position for someone, to announce to them that they will be left out, without being able to explain why.
“It is something we have made a mistake in the planning and unfortunately that is how it is.”
Reports in Greek report that Marinakis – who also owns Nottingham Forest – is “unhappy” with the comments being made in a press conference.
But the boss insisted he would battle to claim the title – which would end Rangers hopes of Europe’s elite competition – despite the turmoil. He said: “The longest period of the championship is over and now we are going to a small championship with strong matches.
“The top three have the lead over the fourth team, we hope to play good games and claim all our chances to get the victories we need and the championship.”
If Rangers can remain firmly in the hunt for Premiership title glory they will have a keen eye on events in Greece as only the Ibrox side can take advantage of this loophole as title winners.
If Hearts or Celtic win the league then they will enter at the play-off stage of the 2026/27 UEFA Champions League, meaning they will have to overcome a two-legged tie to secure a £30million ticket to the league phase. That’s because Scotland have slid down UEFA’s coefficient rankings into 17th – losing a guaranteed spot in the competition.