FIFPro shared with Antoine Lemaries complaints about the conditions he encountered at the Panileiakos

27-year-old French soccer player Antoine Lemarie made the decision to come to Greece to play for Paniliakos, who are participating in the 3rd National Championship. However, his experience was very poor, as he initially complained on his social media. His specific complaint was also published on the website of FIFPro, the International Football Association (PSAPP is one of its members).

Antoine Lemarie made specific reference to his agent and the strange circumstances in which he was transferred to the club. At the same time he did because of physical attacks he received when he asked for a piece of paper to be able to leave the group, stressing that he had not received the agreed money and that the house they had given him was in a bad state .

The article begins with Lemari’s biography, with FIFPro adding that “it is a warning to other players“while his title”Antoine Lemarie: How a bad agent got me into the worst club“.

In detail what Antoine Lemarie mentioned and re-released by FIFPro: “An agent who found my number and texted me which I didn’t see until after I finished training. He was so impatient that he had already sent me ten more messages and added another agent to the conversation saying I wasn’t serious because I hadn’t answered. He didn’t even introduce himself, but he wanted me to send him my passport details.

I didn’t have a good feeling, but the contract offer from Panileiakos was good, the salary was quite good and I was happy to go to Greece because I was looking for something new after three years in the Finnish third division.

I asked another to consider the proposal. The latter made two remarks to him, the intermediary managed to adjust the contract, including an advance of 2,000 euros. We were amazed that everything went so smoothly.

I also told his social media account. He published many deals. I finally realized that these posts were wrong. I had already announced my membership in Panileiakos, although no agreement had yet been reached. I didn’t know the club. I searched for information online but never had direct contact with them.

I thought: I don’t like this guy, but if everything goes according to plan, all I have to do is pay him a commission. Then out of the blue he mentioned that I had to pay for the flight because the club refused and he didn’t want to pay because another player cheated him by not going. It was all very strange, but I took the risk.

After a five-hour bus ride from Athens airport – he could have informed me beforehand – the athletic director picked me up and took me to my apartment. It was already night. When I woke up the next morning I found how dirty everything was: there were cockroaches in the drawers, the shower had no hot water and part of the wall was falling on me.

According to my contract, the meal was included, but the club only offered me one meal that day. My apartment didn’t have a kitchen either, so I could cook my own food. The training facilities were amateur level: holes in the grass, broken lights. We trained at dusk, something dangerous.

But the worst thing was that some of my new teammates told me straight away that they weren’t getting paid and that many foreign players had already left. The Greek players also had problems. On my second day, one of the Brazilian players left.

Even though I didn’t receive the promised €2,000 deposit, they wanted me to play the game on Sunday, four days after I arrived. I thought, I’m not going to play until I get paid. But I changed my mind when I noticed the atmosphere in the stadium and they said everything will be fixed the next day. I played 70 minutes.

At halftime I saw something extraordinary. The other Brazilian player was attacked by the President and his bodyguard. The player was shocked and gathered his belongings. Too much had happened to him in the four months he was there. He had not been paid, his passport was confiscated by the club and only returned when his manager threatened to call the police. And then the President attacked him,” added the 27-year-old Frenchman.

“I got it too. That was already too much. Money was no longer an issue. On Tuesday I told the president and the athletic director that I wanted to go. The President wanted to give me some money, much less than the 2,000 euros he owed me, but I didn’t take it. I just asked him to give me a free transfer.

They lied to me again and said I had to wait because they didn’t have my documents yet. They also said that I played the game with another player’s permission. I went to the Hellenic Football Federation office, got my documents and made an appointment to have the papers signed.

They wanted to come to the apartment to pick up the keys but I waited outside because I didn’t want to join them inside. You never know what can happen there. The President came first, I showed him the paper and asked for his signature. He became angry.

Then we waited for the sports director who spoke English to come. They didn’t want to sign. The President lost his temper. He pinned me against the fence, grabbed my neck and rummaged in my pockets for my keys. Then her bodyguard appeared. The situation became very dangerous. I handed over the keys and resigned from the company.

I packed my things and left Athens as soon as possible. I recorded the incident on my cell phone without them noticing. Apparently the President said to me in Greek: “I will hang you by your feet” and “I will hit you”. They reported my case on social media and it was picked up by the media,” he continued.

“I got a little paranoid because I didn’t know how far the power of these people reached and I had to wait another day for my flight home. In the end, this adventure cost me money: the club hadn’t paid me and I paid for the tickets and the extra night I spent in Athens myself.

I heard that the Panileiako players refused to train after I left and that they had a long discussion with the coach. They also spoke to fans who came to the stadium to ask if my case was true. Apparently fans said they were trying to change things up. It would be great if that happened. I wouldn’t have gone through all this for nothing.

I still hope to find a new club. I can play anywhere except Greece because the president didn’t sign the documents. I have received messages from other players telling me that they too were scammed by the middleman and had to pay him money. I was lucky that I only agreed to pay him after signing with the club: he didn’t take anything from me.

Every week I get messages from people on LinkedIn and other social media platforms with offers or contracts after a trial period, but you have to be very careful and know who to trust.

Next time I’ll trust my gut feeling. I immediately suspected that the middleman was a fraud, that he was treating me like a piece of meat. My brother even advised me not to go to Greece because of all the strange things that happened before I left. I should have noticed the red flags.

I acknowledge that I can be over the top, especially when looking for a new club. But you have to understand that they can easily trick you. My message to other footballers is therefore: be careful and ask your club for advice. Next time I’ll only work with someone I trust“.

The VIDEOS of Antoine Lemarie from his experience at Panileiakos: