Messi to Stand Trial

The Barcelona forward is now due to stand trial on
accusations he defrauded authorities
Lionel

Messi's appeal against allegations of tax
evasion has been thrown out by a Barcelona court
and the Argentina star will now stand trial.
The Blaugrana forward and his father and agent,
Jorge Messi, are accused of defrauding authorities
over a tax amount totalling €4.1 million between
2006 and 2009.

It is alleged that Messi's image rights were sold b
Jorge - who assumed full responsibility when the
case began - using companies in countries like
Belize and Uruguay to avoid Spanish tax
obligations.
A judge at a court in Gava, near
Barcelona, determined in October 2014 that the
27-year-old would have to face trial over the
allegations, despite his pleas that he was neither
guilty nor fully aware of the suggested impropriety
Messi immediately outlined his intention to appeal
in a statement which read: "Through this press
release I want to communicate that, after having
received the order of the court of Gava and
following the professional advice of my solicitors, I
have decided to appeal against it."
That appeal, heard by the Court of Barcelona, was
rejected on Wednesday, however.
In addition to his claims of innocence, Messi and
his father also made a voluntary payment of just
over €5m to the authorities last year.
The case has cast a cloud over Messi despite his
blistering form on the pitch which helped Barca
achieve a domestic and continental treble, which
was completed with Saturday's 3-1 defeat of
Juventus in the Champions League final in Berlin.
The Argentine has been particularly impressive
since the turn of the year after a public falling out
with coach Luis Enrique.