Mou avoids jail, but hit by fine for tax fraud
MADRID — Ex-Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has avoided jail for tax fraud as part of a deal with Spanish prosecutors revealed yesterday, but will pay a fine of close to €2 million.
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The 56-year-old is accused of committing tax fraud in 2011 and 2012 when he coached Spanish giants Real Madrid.
According to the agreement seen by AFP, fall at Mourinho accepted a one-year jail sentence immediately commuted to a fine of €182 500.
The Portuguese coach will also have to pay an additional penalty of €1.98 million.
Mourinho, sacked by Manchester United in December following a string of disappointing performances, is the latest high-profile football figure to be judged over his tax affairs in Spain.
Spanish prosecutors accuse Mourinho, who coached Real Madrid between 2010 and 2013, of failing to declare income of €1.6 million in 2011 and €1.7 million in 2012.
The grounds for the case, as with a series of football stars based in Spain, is how income from Mourinho’s image rights was managed and declared.
Prosecutors believe by ceding his image rights to a series of companies based in tax havens, Mourinho committed fraud by not declaring the income those companies made from his image rights. — AFP. CAPE TOWN — Scrumhalf John Cooney’s late try may not have had any bearing on the outcome of the titanic Six Nations tussle between Ireland and England in Dublin, nor did it rescue a losing bonus point for the hosts, but it did prevent them relinquishing second place in the official World Rugby rankings to their victors.
Leading 32-13 with barely a minute to go, England were on course to leapfrog 2018’s World Rugby Team of the Year but Cooney’s consolation effort reduced the margin between the teams sufficiently for Ireland to hold onto their status as New Zealand’s nearest rivals in the rankings.
But the 32-20 defeat, Ireland’s first at home in the Six Nations for six years, cost them 1.8 rating points, and with England getting an identical amount in return the gap between the two teams is down to just 1.36 points. The All Blacks’ lead at the top has increased to 3.17 points.
England’s four tries to two victory sees them move one spot above Wales - despite a recordbreaking comeback from the men in red against France in Paris - and into third place.
Wales started the weekend 1.02 points and one place ahead of England in the rankings but with only three-tenths of a point on offer for their victory over the lower-ranked French, and England profiting to the tune of 1.8 points, they have now slipped below Eddie Jones’ men.
France, who surrendered a 16-0 half-time lead in losing 24-19, an unprecedented turn of events in Six Nations history, are also down one place to 10th, their joint lowest ranking since they were introduced in October 2003, with Argentina the beneficiaries.