Athens, July 25: Panathinaikos owner Dimitris Giannakopoulos was fined 3,000 euros on Wednesday for leaving a pair of red women's underwear on the empty bench of rivals Olympiakos before a Greek Basketball Cup contest.

"It was an act that defamed the sport," said the sports judge who handed down the ruling. Giannakopoulos made the move after Olympiakos -- who play in red -- failed to show up for the February contest at the Athens Indoor Olympic Stadium to protest the federation's decision to assign a referee which was on the team's blacklist.

Olympiakos also failed to show up for the Greek Basketball League playoffs against Panathinaikos and were relegated to the A2 division. The Piraeus squad was also fined 15,000 euros and deducted six points from next season.

This will be the first time Olympiakos, founded in 1931, will not play in the A1 division in 55 years. Olympiakos had announced that it will play in the A2 division with an amateur team and will use their professional squad in EuroLeague contests.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 25, 2019 12:29 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).