Mamic vows to fight sentence
Al Ain coach says his commitment to club is unwavering after drawing a jail term on corruption charges
Al Ain coach Zoran Mamic intends to appeal an “invalid judgement” after being sentenced in absentia to almost five years in jail for embezzlement and tax evasion in his native Croatia on Wednesday.
Along with his brother Zdravko, who was sentenced to six-and-a-half years, the pair, who were executive director and coach of Dinamo Zagreb between 2013 and 2016, have been found guilty of siphoning funds away from the Croatian club totalling 116 million Croatian kuna (Dh68 million) while failing to pay tax worth 12.2 million kuna.
A club director and tax inspector have also been found guilty, while the transfers from Zagreb of Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren and Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric formed a large part of the investigation. Both players were called in as witnesses during the trial and Modric was charged with perjury in March.
Neither Mamic nor his brother were in Croatia at the time of their sentencing and the verdict is not final as both can still appeal. Under Croatian law, however, a person sentenced to more than five years must immediately go to jail.
Zoran, who was sentenced to four years and 11 months released the following statement on Instagram on Wednesday to assure Al Ain fans he was still their coach and would fight the sentence.
“With respect to His Highness [Shaikh] Khalifa Bin Zayed [Al Nahyan], the President, board members and all our fans I feel the need to notify everyone about the legal process against me in Croatia,” he said.
“After a long and unjust trial that ended in an invalid judgement the next step is the appeal and the whole process is far from finished.
“I wish to inform everyone that this invalid judgement does not stop me from doing my job as Al Ain head coach, and that I will continue to work with the same dedication and zeal as always.
“I will lead my team in training sessions, pre-season camp, all friendly and competitive games and, I am sure, achieve many victories and trophies.
“To conclude, I would like to repeat once again that I am completely innocent and I am sure that I will prove that on higher instances.”
Club reserve comment
A spokesperson for Al Ain said there is no comment from the club’s side until now.
Mamic has been in charge of Al Ain since January 2017 and won the Arabian Gulf League and President’s Cup double last season.
His brother Zdravko survived an assassination attempt in Bosnia last August, while visiting his father’s grave, and in an earlier incident he was also knocked off his yacht into the sea by an attacker. Both incidents have been blamed on Croatian football hooligans.