Former owner of Premier League club stabbed during fight to fend off masked robbers at £10m London mansion

Though Forest have achieved the Premier League dream under Marinakis' ownership, he has come in for criticism over the handling of this season. Forest qualified for the Europa League having finished seventh last season and came into this campaign full of hope. However, they have already cycled their way through three managers - Nuno Espirito Santo, Ange Postecoglou and Sean Dyche - before the appointment of Vitor Pereira as their fourth of 2025-26.

Nevertheless, Marinakis, known for meeting players in the tunnel and even coming onto the City Ground pitch, remains a hugely popular figure among Forest fans, with former player Rob Earnshaw telling GOAL that football needs larger-than-life personalities like his.

"When Mr Marinakis comes on the pitch and he's greeting players in the tunnel, for me there is absolutely nothing wrong with that," Earnshaw said, speaking in association with NordicBet, where fans can follow the latest Europa League odds.

"Also, in Greece, when you are the owner, you are entitled to go in the dressing room, to go on the pitch, it's part of the game as you come and be part of it - you speak with the players and you are the man in the middle. As the owner, you get a better feeling of what's going on inside the football club.

"I have no problem with it and think Mr Marinakis has done a fantastic job. He is of course very ruthless and very determined, very direct in his ways, but he has taken this football club - in the last five/six years - into where it should be, in the Premier League, playing in Europe and having big European nights, playing in the Premier League and having the chance to go to the Champions League. Those moments are what every Forest fan wants to happen.

"I enjoy it. I enjoy him being involved. I think it's been unbelievable and he deserves a lot of credit because he hasn't just invested in the football club, he has fully invested himself in order to take the club to be successful. It has been a hell of a journey, a hell of a few years, but it wouldn't be Forest if it was boring and we didn't have personalities.

"Football is about personalities, so I love that. They shouldn't just be sat there and you never hear from them in the box. They are part of the football club and their personality comes out. I'm all for that."

Click here to read article