Whatever happened in Greece that stopped them from participating?

Question

I read a short article that the government did not want any international relations and that the entire soccer team was suspended that's why they did not participate in the WorldCup 2006. Does anyone have details?

Answer 1

they didn't qualify in preliminaries

Answer 2

That's all in someone's imagination. Everyone in Greece wanted the team to participate, the team was well and the same as in Euro 2004, Otto Rehagel was hired again, etc, but they didn't manage to pass the preliminaries. They lost even to Albania on their first game. What can I say, only Greeks can be so great winners and losers at the same time!

Answer 3

I dunno - it's all Greek to me.

Actually they just did not qualify this time - the thing you are referring to is Greek teams being barred from the Champions league, etc because their government had too much influence over how the game was run in Greece (which contravened FIFA or EUEFA rules). But that has all been resolved now with the Greek government deciding to cut funding and take more of a back seat role.