I already knew Evangelos Marinakis from my work with the Greece Football Federation where I headed up the Greek Super League’s referees.
He is a passionate football fan – the owner of Olympiacos as well as Rio Ave in Portugal and Nottingham Forest in England – and someone who will leave no stone unturned in trying to make sure his clubs are successful.
It was with that in mind that Marinakis phoned me last week to discuss a job.
It is not unusual for clubs in other countries to use refereeing consultants, though the Premier League has never embraced this idea to my knowledge.