Yiorgos Vardinogiannis
Yiorgos Vardinogiannis is a Greek businessman and a shipping magnate, former owner and president of the Panathinaikos football club. He was born in Episkopi, Rethymno in 1936. He is the brother of oil and shipping tycoon Vardis Vardinogiannis.Career
Yiorgos Vardinoyannis was captain of the oil tanker MV Arietta Venezelos which in February 1966 was located in the Persian Gulf. The Greek government, reacting to concerns that oil it was taking on board was destined for Rhodesia gave instructions to the owners, Venezelos SA to divert the ship to Rotterdam rather than South Africa and forbade the delivery of oil to Rhodesia. However, Vardinogiannis continued to sail for Beira in Mozambique, then a colony of Portugal. Here the pipeline would allow oil to be pumped to landlocked Rhodesia.Football
He was president of Greek football club Panathinaikos FC for 21 years and had the nickname Kapetanios.
