Tax Fraud: Messi To Appeal 21-month Jail Sentence

Lionel Messi and his father, Jorge Horacio Messi, are ready to take their appeal to the Spanish Supreme Court, after they were both found guilty of three counts of tax fraud on Wednesday.

Their lawyers, Enrique Bacigalupo and Javier Sanchez-Vera, have issued a statement which said the sentence was “incorrect” and that they “expect the outcome of their appeal to rule in favour of the defence.”

They also believe the appeal would “show Lionel acted correctly at all times, as did his father.”

Both Lionel and Jorge Messi were handed 21-month jail terms, although neither is likely to serve any jail time.

The lawyers “stressed that both Lionel and Jorge were aware of their tax obligations and, for this reason, approached a firm specialising in tax management for athletes” – but the court “considered they were not well advised.”

An appeal through the Spanish Supreme Court is likely to take around a year to be resolved.