Messi misses first day of tax fraud trial
THE trial of Lionel Messi on charges of tax evasion opened in Barcelona yesterday, but injury prevented the five-time World Player of the Year from attending. The Barcelona star will be in court tomorrow to testify.
Messi and his father, Jorge Horacio Messi, are accused by the Spanish tax office of defrauding the government of 4.2 million euros (US$4.7 million) between 2007 and 2009. They could face jail terms of up to 22 months if found guilty.
Both have denied the allegations and missed yesterday’s hearing, which lasted over an hour. The 28-year-old player and his father are not obliged to attend the court every day, but they will have to testify tomorrow.
“The intention of Mr Lionel was to attend the plenary hearing, but he has suffered an injury,” Messi’s lawyer, Javier Sanchez-Vera, said in court.
The Barcelona forward hurt his back during Argentina’s international friendly against Honduras last Friday.
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