Panathinaikos has restored Dejan Bodiroga’s EuroLeague championship banner to the rafters of Telekom Center Athens.
The banner was removed in March after Panathinaikos owner Dimitris Giannakopoulos reacted angrily to the officiating during the Greek derby against Olympiacos. Six months later, the tribute to one of the greatest players in the club’s history is back in its place.
The controversial decision dates back to March
Bodiroga’s banner was reinstated on Saturday, with Panathinaikos reversing the decision that had attracted significant attention across European basketball.
The original controversy began on March 6, when Olympiacos defeated Panathinaikos 86-80 in Piraeus. It was the 11th consecutive EuroLeague victory for Olympiacos over its biggest rivals, while Giannakopoulos was once again highly critical of the officiating.
The Panathinaikos owner directly targeted Dejan Bodiroga, who serves as EuroLeague president, posting the Serbian-language message “Shame on you” on social media during the game. He then ordered the removal of Bodiroga’s banner from the arena as a symbolic protest against what he considered unacceptable refereeing.
The banner honored Panathinaikos’ 2002 EuroLeague championship and featured Bodiroga holding the trophy after one of the defining achievements of his four-year spell with the club.
Bodiroga joined Panathinaikos in 1998 and remained in Athens until 2002, winning two EuroLeague titles during that period, in 2000 and 2002. He became one of the central figures of the club’s rise to the top of European basketball and remains one of the most revered players in Panathinaikos history.
Following the removal, the Bodiroga tribute was replaced by a banner honoring Fragiskos Alvertis, another Panathinaikos legend.
Giannakopoulos admitted the decision was a mistake
The return of the banner comes shortly after Giannakopoulos publicly acknowledged that removing it had been the wrong decision. Speaking on the Euro Insiders podcast in August, the Panathinaikos owner described Bodiroga as both a club and European basketball legend, while also emphasizing that the two are now friends.
“Everyone makes mistakes. Dejan Bodiroga was a Panathinaikos legend. He was a legend of European basketball. And above all, he is now my friend. Putting everything else aside, he is my friend,” Giannakopoulos said.
He explained that his criticism had been connected to Bodiroga’s continued role in European basketball, before admitting that the decision to remove the banner went too far.
“He is not someone who has left basketball. He remains active in the sport. He has his own role, and when you are still involved in the game, you have to be able to accept both applause and criticism. I was not happy with some things.”
Giannakopoulos then confirmed that the decision would be reversed.
“However, my decision was clearly wrong, and that will be corrected. The banner will return. It will return very soon,” he added.
