Judge rejects appeal lodged by the player - Messi to stand trial for tax evasion

Posted Saturday, October 04, 2014 by Marca.com

A Barcelona judge has turned down Leo Messi's appeal for charges of tax evasion against him to be dropped.

The magistrate believes that the player could have been aware of the actions of his father, Jorge Horacio Messi, who is his agent and is responsible for all of his finances.

According to the judge, in order to charge the player, "it is sufficient that there are indications that Lionel Messi was aware of and consented to the fraudulent behaviour". He also referred to the statement of an expert who assured that in terms of his finances, Messi "signs what they put in front of him. He doesn't have the time or the energy. He devotes himself to football and that's all", pointing out that this was a "subjective opinion".

As such, the court maintains the charges against Messi and his father for three counts of fraud against the Tax Agency, allegedly evading the payment of €4.1 million in income tax during 2007, 2008 and 2009 by using shell companies to avoid paying tax on the player's income resulting from image rights.

The player and his family were surprised by the court's decision and the Argentinean footballer's lawyer, Cristobal Martell, is already preparing a new appeal which will be lodged in the coming days.