Barcelona football player Messi loses appeal in tax fraud trial
Spain's Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected an appeal by Barcelona football star Lionel Messi and stood by a Catalan regional court's 21-month prison sentence for tax fraud, court documents showed.
The five-times World Player of the Year is unlikely to go to prison, however.
Messi and his father Jorge were found guilty by a Catalan court last July on three counts of tax fraud between 2007 and 2009 to the tune of 4.1 million euros on image rights and were also fined 2 million euros (£1.7 million).
The court reduced Jorge Messi's sentence from 21 months to 15, however, for returning the defrauded amount to Spain's tax authority.
Neither Messi nor his father are expected to serve time in jail, as under Spanish law sentences under two years can be served under probation.
