In 2012, an ageing, nondescript tanker was renamed Noor 1 and promptly became a so-called ghost ship, its routes no longer logged. After it was intercepted off the Greek coast in 2014 it was claimed that more than two tonnes of heroin and 18 tonnes of illegal fuel had been smuggled on it.

There has long been speculation linking Evangelos Marinakis – one of Greece’s most powerful men, and owner of Olympiakos and Nottingham Forest – to that ship and on Friday the Greek public prosecutor, having conducted a preliminary investigation into allegations of drug trafficking made against him, has referred those allegations to an investigating judge.

The accusations – which Marinakis strongly rejects – are the latest development in a remarkable season, signifying a wider struggle in Greek football and beyond. In 2015, he was acquitted of complicity in a match-fixing network across seven countries. The magnate, who bought Forest in a £50m takeover, attributed those charges to jealous critics bent on blighting his Greek team’s winning streak. “Of course I cannot stop our opponents talking or bad mouthing,” he said.

Marinakis has a Pavarotti-like heft to match his growing power in football, business and politics. But now he is at odds with the government and rivals scent blood.

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