MODRIC FACES PERJURY CHARGE
Real’s midfield ace accused of providing false testimony
CROATIAN prosecutors charged Real Madrid’s Luka Modric on Fridaywith giving false testimony at the multi-million corruption trial of Dinamo Zagreb’s powerful former chief, an offence which carries a sentence of up to five years in jail.
The 32-year-old midfielder was charged with “committing the criminal offence of giving false testimony” last June during a trial against Zdravko Mamic and three others before a local tribunal, a prosecutors’ statement said.
The indictment has yet to be approved by a court and the Croatia captain is currently not threatened with an arrest.
Mamic is accused — along with his brother Zoran Mamic and two others — of abuse of power and graft that cost the former Croatian champions more than US$18.4 million (RM72.3 million), and the state US$1.8 million (RM7.3 million).
Cash was allegedly embezzled through fictitious deals related to player transfers. Modric testified last June over the details of his 2008 transfer from Dinamo to Tottenham Hotspur.
From there he joined Real Madrid in 2012.
The prosecutors charged Modric that, when questioned at the tribunal, he falsely said he had an annex to a contract with Dinamo over conditions for future transfers, giving him the right to a “5050 share in transfer fees,” while still playing in Croatia.
He also falsely testified he had signed such an annex every time he extended his contract, they said.
When questioned during investigations in 2015, Modric said the annex was signed after he joined Tottenham, according to prosecutors.
The entire amount of the transfer fee was eventually acquired by Dinamo, prosecutors said.
Modric is also accused of tax fraud in Spain, and has paid Spanish fiscal authorities close to US$1.2 million (RM4.7 million), a judicial source in Spain said in January.
The indictment could also adversely affect Croatia ahead of World Cup finals in Russia as Modric is their biggest star.
Croatia play in Group D along with Argentina, Iceland and Nigeria.
Last October, Modric was named, for the third time, to the Fifa FIFPro team selected by thousands of professional players. In 2015, he became the first Croatian voted to the FIFPro XI.
Modric, who grew up as a refugee in Zadar on the Dalmatian coast, is very popular in Croatia where he has a reputation for modesty.
But the testimony has tarnished Modric’s image as many Croatian fans fear it could undermine the charges against Mamic, who they believe has abused football for personal gain.
Most Croatian football fans see Mamic as the real boss of the Croatian Football Federation and believe its chief Davor Suker is merely his puppet.
“My conscience is clear,” Modric told reporters in July after being questioned on his alleged false testimony.