Croatian football chief behind bars
Zagreb, June 6: Croatian football strongman and former Dinamo Zagreb chief Zdravko Mamic was sentenced on Wednesday to six- and- a- half years in prison over multi- millioneuro abuse of power and graft.
Two international stars — Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric and defender Dejan Lovren — appeared as witnesses during the trial in Osijek providing details of their transfers from Dinamo.
The players’ evidence came under official scrutiny. Croatia captain Modric was charged in March for alleged false testimony over the details of his 2008 transfer from Dinamo to Tottenham Hotspur.
Lovren, questioned over his 2010 transfer from Dinamo to French side Lyon, was also investigated. Mamic, 58, was not present at the tribunal in the eastern town of Osijek for sentencing. He travelled to neighbouring Bosnia on Tuesday claiming he was not on the run but wanted to avoid “frustration” at the court.
“I went to find peace,” Mamic, who also holds Bosnian passport, told local media late on Tuesday from Medjugorje, a southern Bosnian town famed for alleged apparitions of the Virgin Mary.
“I can return whenever I want.”
Mamic is considered the most powerful figure in Croatian football and his trial, that opened in April 2017, was a further problem for a sport already struggling with hooliganism and poor infrastructure. He was tried along with three others — his brother and former Dinamo Zagreb coach Zoran Mamic, former club director Damir Vrbanovic, and a tax inspector.