Marinakis sues Crystal Palace over gun banner aimed at Gibbs-White

Nottingham Forest’s owner, Evangelos Marinakis, has lodged a defamation claim against Crystal Palace at the High Court over a banner unfurled by the south London club’s supporters last summer that depicted him holding a gun to Morgan Gibbs-White’s head. Lawyers acting for the Greek shipping magnate filed the claim on Monday against CPFC Ltd, Palace’s commercial entity, and “Persons Unknown”.

The banner in question appeared during the first half of Palace’s 1-1 draw with Forest at Selhurst Park on 24 August, in a Premier League fixture that came to be defined as much by events on the terraces as on the pitch. As well as the graphic image of Marinakis, the banner carried the message: “Mr Marinakis is not involved in blackmail, match-fixing, drug trafficking or corruption.”

A dispute rooted in the Gibbs-White saga

The banner emerged shortly after a tense summer transfer saga involving Gibbs-White, who had appeared close to joining Tottenham Hotspur, reportedly after Spurs triggered a release clause in the region of £60 million, before Forest moved to keep hold of their midfielder and tied him down to a new contract. Gibbs-White subsequently appeared in a video alongside Marinakis explaining his decision to stay at the City Ground.

Marinakis has consistently denied any wrongdoing in relation to the allegations referenced on the banner and has never been charged with any of the offences it named. The 10 August filing marks the clearest legal step he has taken to challenge the claims publicly.

Palace already fined by the FA

The Football Association charged Palace with misconduct in November, alleging the club had failed to ensure supporters did not behave in an “improper, offensive, abusive or provocative” manner. In February, the FA fined Palace £50,000 over the incident, with the governing body noting: “The fact that Crystal Palace had a policy to prevent banners being smuggled into the stadium demonstrates that it was aware of the risk.”

A Palace spokesperson declined to comment when approached over the fresh legal claim, while Forest did not respond to a request for comment. Lawyers acting for Marinakis were also approached but did not immediately provide further detail on the scope of the claim.

Frosty relations between the clubs

The legal action underlines the strained relationship between the two Premier League clubs that has simmered since last summer, when Forest wrote to Uefa raising concerns over Palace’s compliance with multi-club ownership rules ahead of their participation in European competition. The defamation claim now takes that rivalry into the courts, with the matter set to be examined by the High Court in the coming months.

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Sources

• dailymail.com
• The Mirror
• The Guardian

This is an independent report written from the facts across the sources named above.