Liverpool's Dejan Lovren Charged With Perjury for False Testimony in Croatian Corruption Case

Liverpool's Dejan Lovren has officially been charged with perjury alongside Real Madrid star Luka Modric, after being alleged to have given a false testimony during the embezzlement case of former Dinamo Zagreb executive Zdravko Mamic.

Mamic was sentenced to six-and-a-half years imprisonment earlier in the summer for embezzling funds from Zagreb through commissions taken from player sales. The player would forward as high as 50 percent of the fee the foreign club paid for his services directly to Mamic, ensuring he made illegal personal profits. 

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Lovren's role in the case comes from the illegal profiting of his €8.5m move from Zagreb to Lyon in 2010, where 50 percent of his transfer fee was passed onto the Mamic family. 

Having been named as a key witness both Modric and Lovren were forced to testify. However, having altered their initial stance to favour their former boss, they were accused of committing perjury. 

Modric has already been charged with the offence and is awaiting a trial, and now the Croatian State Attorney Office (DOHR) has released a statement regarding the Liverpool defender's charge.

The statement reads: "The County State Attorney's Office in Osijek filed an indictment against a Croatian citizen (1989) before the Osijek County Court in 1989 for committing the criminal offense of giving false testimony under Article 305, paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code. (19th September 2018).

The issue stems from Lovren backtracking over when the 50/50 clause was inserted into his contract, and despite being warned that 'false testimony' was a criminal offence the DOHR now claims the defender knew he was making untruthful statements. 

If found guilty of perjury Lovren could face a jail sentence anywhere between six months to five-years.