Olympiakos wins cup for record 26th time

ATHENS - The Associated Press

Olympiakos’ players celebrate with the trophy after defeating Asteras Tripolis during their Greek Cup football match final at the Olympic stadium in Athens.

Olympiakos won a record 26th Greek Cup when it beat Asteras 3-1 in extra time in a bad-tempered final on May 11.

Djamel Abdoun scored a goal and assisted on another as Olympiakos achieved the league-cup double for a 16th time.

David Fuster and Rafik Djebbour also scored for Olympiakos, while Rayos opened the scoring for Asteras, which was playing in its first cup final. Asteras players twice, in the 69th and 117th minutes, appealed for a penalty in vain. Replays showed that, on the first occasion, at 1-1, defender Yannis Maniatis used his hand to stop the ball on the goal-line. After the referee awarded Olympiakos a penalty with which Abdoun scored the game’s final goal in the 119th, frustration boiled over and the teams attacked each other. The punchup lasted some four minutes before the game resumed. Asteras was livid at the referee. “It wasn’t Olympiakos which won, it was that punk Yahos and his posse of punks,” co-owner Dimitris Bakos said, referring to the assistants.