Alpha News

Tsakalidis to Referee Olympiacos-PAOK Cup Quarterfinal

Published January 12, 2026, 09:34

Alexandros Tsakalidis has been appointed as the referee for the Olympiacos-PAOK cup quarterfinal match on Wednesday, January 14th. Slovenian Matej Jug will be on VAR. This decision comes after Olympiacos P.A.E. requested a top-level referee from abroad, threatening to postpone the match if their request could not be met. This is the second time this season that a Greek referee has been assigned to a cup derby, following the Aris-PAOK match officiated by Tasos Papapetrou with VAR support from Ivan Bebek. Tsakalidis also refereed the Super Cup final between Olympiacos and OFI on January 3rd. Referees for the remaining quarterfinal matches have also been announced. Angelos Evangelou will officiate Panathinaikos-Aris with VAR support from Dutch referee Clay Ruperti. Tasos Papapetrou is assigned to AEK-OFI with VAR from Thanasis Tzilos, while Vasilis Fotias will referee Levadiakos-Kifissia with VAR from Stefanos Koumbarakis. The decision to appoint Greek referees with foreign VAR officials is part of the EPO's strategy, as stated by president Makis Gagatsis during the cup League Phase draw in September. The goal is to strengthen confidence in Greek referees and improve the overall level of refereeing.