AEK Athens owner Dimitris Melissanidis has labelled coach Gus Poyet “immoral” after the Uruguayan told Greek media he would be leaving the club at the end of the season.
Speaking to the media on Tuesday, a day ahead of AEK’s Greek Cup semi-final second leg match against Atromitos, Poyet further angered the club by revealing details of a private meeting he had held with Melissanidis.
“What he did was unacceptable, it was not the appropriate time to unsettle the team just hours before the semi-final,” Melissanidis told reporters.
“AEK has never leaked any information from any of our meetings with him and for him to talk to the press about the contents of our meeting is immoral.”
While local media reported Poyet had been fired and would not be in the dugout for the match against Atromitos, AEK released a statement saying they would discuss the issue in full after Wednesday’s match.
“AEK was informed of Gus Poyet’s decision that he will not stay with the club after the summer on Tuesday evening,” the club said.
“The important thing for AEK at the moment is the crucial semi-final with Atromitos, all of the other issues will be seen to after the match.”
Former Sunderland manager Poyet took over from Traianos Dellas last October on a deal until the end of the season with the option to renew for another two years.
Bankruptcy in 2013 had forced the club out of the Greek Super League for the first time but they returned quickly under the ownership of Greek shipping and oil magnate Melissanidis.
‘The Yellows’ made an impressive return under Poyet and ended the regular season in second behind champions Olympiakos. They will battle for Greece’s second Champions League spot in the play-offs against Panathinaikos, PAOK Salonica and Panionios.
Former Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Poyet, who played for Uruguay, has also managed Brighton & Hove Albion.
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Forced Deportations
While the Lebanese government has deported a number of refugees back to Syria since 2011, the latest round is the first en-mass campaign of its kind, say the Access Center for Human Rights, a non-governmental organization which monitors the conditions of Syrian refugees in Lebanon.
“In the past, the Lebanese General Security was responsible for the forced deportation operations of refugees, after forcing them to sign papers stating that they wished to return to Syria of their own free will. Now, the Lebanese army, specifically military intelligence, is responsible for the security operation,” said Mohammad Hasan, head of ACHR.
In just the first four months of 2023 the number of forced deportations is nearly double that of the entirety of 2022.
Since the beginning of 2023, ACHR has reported 407 forced deportations – 200 of which occurred in April alone.
In comparison, just 154 people were forcfully deported in 2022.
Violence
Instances of violence against Syrian refugees are not uncommon.
Just last month, security camera footage of men violently attacking and stabbing an employee at a mini-market went viral. The store’s employees had engaged in a verbal altercation with the men who had come to enforce an order to shutter shops, following the announcement of a municipal curfew for Syrian refugees.
“They thought they were Syrian,” said the mayor of the Nahr el Bared municipality, Charbel Bou Raad, of the attackers.
It later emerged the beaten employees were Lebanese. But the video was an exemplary instance of violence at a time when anti-Syrian rhetoric is particularly heated as Lebanese politicians call for the return of Syrian refugees to Syria.
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Cricket World Cup League Two
Oman, UAE, Namibia
Al Amerat, Muscat
Results
Oman beat UAE by five wickets
UAE beat Namibia by eight runs
Namibia beat Oman by 52 runs
UAE beat Namibia by eight wickets
UAE v Oman - abandoned
Oman v Namibia - abandoned
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