Four top football clubs with tax debts exceeding €25.6 million are awaiting the government’s next move after some made partial payments towards €5.3 million in recent arrears, while facing potential UEFA sanctions and criminal prosecution.
APOEL, Apollon, Anorthosis and AEL accumulated these new tax debts after May 2023 and were given until the end of March to pay, with a brief extension granted, sources told philenews.
APOEL has not yet made any payment towards its €1.8 million obligation, despite club officials informing tax authorities in late March that they had collected €700,000 and pledged to increase this to €1 million, the source said.
Tax Commissioner Sotiris Markides has prepared criminal charges against more than 100 current and former club officials—including active and former ministers, mayors and parliamentarians—should the clubs fail to comply.
If APOEL doesn’t pay a significant portion of its debts after Easter, the Tax Commissioner will forward the charges to the Attorney General’s office to proceed with prosecutions, a source told philenews, adding that some APOEL officials are “particularly alarmed” by the developments.
Apollon and Anorthosis have each paid about 40% of their new debts and committed to paying another 20% in instalments by summer. Anorthosis, reportedly in talks with an Egyptian investor, has requested that €75,000 received from the government be deducted from its €650,000 debt.
AEL has collected €168,000 from fan contributions and promised tax authorities it would settle its €1.6 million in new debts by summer.
The clubs hope to be reinstated to the Repayment Scheme by the Council of Ministers, which would enable Finance Minister Makis Keravnos to issue the crucial annual UEFA certification in May stating that the clubs have no new state debts while older ones are under arrangement.
Football companies have until the end of May to present evidence to UEFA that they fully comply with the criteria required by the federation, a source told philenews.
The matter has not been placed on today’s Council of Ministers agenda, despite some clubs’ expectations.
Meanwhile, Pafos FC and Aris Limassol are awaiting approval from the Council for discounts after committing to pay their debts in full, totalling €1.18 million and €435,000 respectively.
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