Greece is bracing itself today for FIFA's decision on whether to ban Greek teams over government interference in the sport.
World soccer's governing body has said if the government did not assure the independence of the Greek Football Association (EPO) from the state by today it would bar all clubs from international competitions, including the Champions League and the World Cup.
EPO is embroiled in a bitter feud with the sports ministry over government-proposed reforms for domestic soccer.
The reforms centre on doping control, cross-ownership, revenues from the pools and recent sports legislation. Greek soccer has been plagued by dwindling attendances, match-fixing allegations and poor refereeing.
A FIFA official told Reutersyesterday the organisation would meet today to decide whether to impose the ban.
Greece are due to play two World Cup qualifying matches against Albania and England in June. If Greece was expelled from FIFA, these games would have to be postponed or cancelled.
Greek champions Olympiakos Piraeus have warned EPO they would seek multi-million dollar damages if they were not allowed to compete in next season's Champions League.