Alexis Kougias

Alexis Kougias Αλέξης Κούγιας
Born	(1951-01-24) January 24, 1951 Petroupoli, Greece
Nationality	Greek
Alma mater	Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Thessaloniki, Greece National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Athens, Greece
Occupation	Lawyer

Alexios "Alexis" Kougias (Greek: Αλέξης Κούγιας; born on 24 January 1951 in Petroupolis, Athens) is a Greek penologist, lawyer and former stakeholder of AEL.

Law career

He studied law at the University of Thessaloniki and at the University of Athens, from where he graduated. Ηe first generated publicity in 1978, as an advocate of notorious criminal Vangelis Rochamis. He also practiced criminal law in known cases, including "the trial of Satanists", the trial of Argyris Saliarelis, the trial Express Samina disaster, the trial of the terrorist organizations and ELA and 17 November Group. In December 2008 he took over the defense of the policeman who fatally shot 15 year old Alexis Grigoropoulos. According to his statements, he has taken 17,500 trials, including 5,000 felonies. As of 2024, Kougias has been involved in some of Greece’s most controversial cases to date, facing mass criticism by the Greek Media.

Football career

He started playing football for Aris Petroupolis at the age of 18 in the second Division. He played for Olympiakos Loutraki. In 1973, he was transferred to Iraklis Thessaloniki. In 1978, he returned to Olympiakos Loutraki and later at Pelops Kiato.

Alongside with his career in law, he has been heavily involved in sports ownership and administration. Between 1997 and 2004 he served as president of AEK Athens. He has served as president of Korinthos, Aris Petroupolis, Veria, PAS Giannina, Lamia and Panahaiki. Kougias has also represented Iraklis at the EPAE committee. By the late 2000s, Kougias was a major stakeholder at Larissa-based football club AEL. For a short period in 2024, he was a Vice-President of Olympiacos F.C.