Real Madrid Head Coach Carlo Ancelotti To Appear In Court Over $1 Million Tax Fraud
Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti will appear in court on Wednesday, less than 24 hours after Los Blancos' Copa del Rey semi-final against Real Sociedad.
The Italian will stand trial for defrauding Spain's tax office of more than $1 million in undeclared earnings from image rights in 2014 and 2015. The prosecutors are seeking jail time for Ancelotti, up to nearly five years.
Ancelotti has denied the charges and has total confidence in the justice system to find him not guilty of the crime.
I have total confidence in the law and in justice. I’m not worried but I am obviously annoyed if they say that I’ve committed fraud, but, once again, I have total confidence in justice. I’m really looking forward to testifying on Wednesday.Carlo Ancelotti
The prosecution alleged that Ancelotti declared all his personal income but failed to declare the earnings from the sale of his image rights. They claim he failed to pay a total of $1,146,328 in tax on the sale of those rights, which amounted to $1.33m in 2014 and $3.19m the following year.
Ancelotti is not the first high-profile soccer personality to attend court over fraud allegations. Cristiano Ronaldo and Jose Mourinho agreed to a deal that resulted in suspended sentences, with a decision on a considerable amount of money they would pay.
It is likely that the 65-year-old will not have the answer to the charges tomorrow, with evidence being presented from both sides.
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Jordan Merritt is a freelance soccer writer who covers Real Madrid CF On SI. He is an obsessive soccer fan and an Arsenal supporter.
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