‘It was a long, hard road’: How Greece’s illegal Rugby League team overcame a government ban

On 2 August George Stilianos was given some appropriate news; he becomes now no longer a part of an unlawful organization.

“To have the paper in our fingers become a massive feeling of alleviation; it becomes something we were operating in the direction of for years,” says Stilianos.

Was Stilianos a part of an intensive political movement? Or a part of a marginalized spiritual organization? No, he’s the President of the Greek Rugby League Association (GRLA), and the paper he become retaining stated that they’d prison reputation from the Greek authorities

But how did a collection of rugby gamers emerge in this sort of position? It’s a tale of moonlit fits, illicit teach rides, and dastardly politicians that led the countrywide group all of the manners to the World Cup.

-Why become Rugby League banned in Greece?

Born in Australia to a Greek dad and mom Stilianos took an early hobby in Rugby League, despite sure disadvantages, because of the ubiquity of the game down below.

“I wasn’t the most important of children and I might watch lots of Rugby League with my Dad however he wouldn’t allow me to play due to the fact he becomes fearful of me getting hurt,” says Stilianos.

“But Rugby League being so famous in Australia withinside the schoolyard every person becomes gambling.“

After completing college in 2008 Stilianos, equipped for an adventure, booked a flight to his dad and mom’s place of birth now no longer understanding whilst he’d go back. Despite having a countrywide group (staffed with Australians of Greek descent) from 2003 – 2010, there wasn’t an awful lot of a Rugby League scene in Greece and it wasn’t for any other 4 years that Stilianos made the pass to drum up the hobby in his liked sport.

-“It become 2012 once I made a pass to begin up.

“I had continually desired to do it however I continually notion I did not have contacts. I didn’t have an awful lot of a community aside from relatives.

“A few years went via way of means of and it commenced itching at me so I commenced a Facebook organization approximately Athens Rugby League.”

This is how Stilianos met Anastasios Pantazidis, a large wig withinside the soon-to-be governing celebration of Syriza.

“Pantazidis were given in contact and he become a former rugby union, he had some gamers trying to attempt something new. We commenced education collectively and commenced a group.”

Around that point the Hellenic Federation of Rugby League (HFRL) become governing Rugby League in Greece, however, after a monetary scandal, they had been thrown out of the Rugby League European Federation. Stilianos’s GRLA has been defined as a ‘breakaway’ organization, however, upon its expulsion the HFRL become positioned below the umbrella of the Hellenic Federation of Modern Pentathlon, efficaciously outlawing video games run via way of means of the GRLA.

“We had a damage away in 2015 and to be sincere seeing that there has been no federation initially we weren’t breaking far from anything,” says Stilianos.

“The following 12 months Syriza was given elected. He [Pantazidis] become deeply concerned in that celebration. He used grimy hints to get Rugby League positioned into the pentathlon federation.

“That trapped us, unexpectedly he become a prison and we had been a group of rebels.”

-Midnight video games and Maltese qualifiers

Stilianos and his fellow Rugby League enthusiasts weren’t going to be deterred and made the selection to preserve gambling despite the boundaries they faced.

Rugby League become now no longer outlawed altogether so they might nonetheless accurately educate and recruit group members, but they couldn’t play on public fields which can be owned via way of means of the Greek authorities.

“We once in a while took the threat and multiple instances we were given into hassle due to that,” says Stilianos.

Dodging the police and adopting slight espionage has become par for the course, in particular, whilst the time got here for global fits. The GRLA won a global reputation and their groups ought to play qualifiers for global Rugby League cups, but the privately owned land they normally performed on wasn’t continually as much as the desired standard.

“We needed to get innovative and play video games out of the metropolis,” says Stilianos.

For one recreation a group from the island of Rhodes flew into Athens and the fit become performed on an out-of-metropolis commercial property at nighttime.

“They flew in and flew out the subsequent day. The recreation needed to occur that night time one manner or any other.

“They [the field owners] had been completely booked till 11 pm and we stated we can take it. Sure sufficient we were given there and some fits have been delayed, it wasn’t till nighttime that the sphere become free, it kicked off at 12:15.”

For a qualifier against Malta in 2018 that the Greek group went directly to win 60 – four Stilianos insisted on whole secrecy, now no longer even telling the gamers the sport’s location.

“There had been in all likelihood 5 gamers in all of Greece that knew in which we had been gambling.

“We instructed them to get on the bus and don’t ask any questions.

“It becomes the primary qualifier fit if the police officers had grown to become up and disrupted the sport we’d have misplaced on a technicality.

“I felt awful due to the fact lots of humans’ dads and moms desired to return and I had to mention sorry I can’t inform anyone. It wasn’t till 15 mins earlier than kick-off I stated `name your dad and mom.’”

The measures can also additionally appear to be paranoia however police had disrupted Rugby League fits earlier than and brought humans in for questioning; in the sort of tight-knit network, matters get around.

“Word can unfold in no time if you’ve been given a rat withinside the ranks,” says Stilianos.

“They might be inside their rights to mention every person moving domestically that is an unauthorized carrying event.

“It become a massive alleviation whilst the overall time whistle went. I might be accountable if something had long past wrong. I do not need that on my conscience.”

– Why is Rugby League prison in Greece now?

The global reputation that necessitated Stilianos and his group’s excessive measures proved, ironically, to be the very element that was given them prison status.

In February this 12 months, Stilianos had painstakingly accumulated collectively all of the files he had to put up to the Greek authorities for a legitimate reputation for the GRLA and heard nothing back.

“In Greece when you have were given all of the papers and the whole lot they’ve requested for it could take a seat down on a table for 3 years and now no longer even get regarded at.”

At this stage, with the World Cup withinside the UK on the horizon, the President determined to invite intervention from a better power.

“We had been capable of getting the British and Australian ambassadors to Greece concerned,” says Stilianos.

“We defined the situation, that they’d commenced getting onto the Minister of Sport and stated you want to examine it.

“If we didn’t have the World Cup arising then the ministers won’t have felt any want to get concerned or now no longer had a sturdy argument to place forward.”

Greece won’t have achieved nicely withinside the Rugby League World Cup (they misplaced to France, Samoa, and England) however at the same time as the group won’t be returning domestic heroes, they at the least can go back domestic to play a fit without the worry of arrest.

Now there are over 2 hundred Rugby League gamers in Greece throughout thirteen groups; 4 women and 9 men.

As for Pantazidis? There are no difficult feelings. Well, now no longer that many.

“He grew to become out to be an awful apple however if he and I didn’t meet I am certain there wouldn’t be Rugby League in Greece today,” says Stilianos.

“Good matters did pop out of it although we went thru all of the battles.”