Javier Mascherano has been sentenced to a year in prison and fined
€815,000 (£625,000) for two tax offences committed in 2011 and 2012.
However, the Barcelona star is not likely to be spending a year behind
bars, after his lawyer David Aineto requested the prison sentence to be
substituted for the fine, which he is yet to pay. Mascherano's lawyer is
also attempting to have the offences removed from his criminal record
by paying an additional fine.
In Spain people handed sentences of less than two years are not normally
required to serve their sentence, unless they are being punished for
violent crime, if they agree to a fine.
After the court verdict, Mascherano published an open letter in which he
insisted he was an 'honest and responsible person'. Read it after the
cut.
'After agreeing my arrival at Barcelona I engaged the services of a
prestigious Spanish tax firm of the highest professional standing and
excellent reputation.
'Having in consideration my situation, they recommended to me certain
financial structures, all of which they informed me were common
practise, totally transparent and accepted by the law.
'I was assessed by these professionals from 2010 until 2014 when I
decided to change my advisors in view of the proceedings that had been
initiated against me along with evidence that my problem was no longer
just a possibility but had become a reality.
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