September 20 – Liverpool’s Croatian World Cup defender Dejan Lovren has been charged with perjury in the trial of ex-officials of Dinamo Zagreb, his former club.
Prosecutors are reportedly accusing him of giving false statements during the high-profile corruption trial of former Dinamo Zagreb manager Zdravko Mamic.
A prosecutors’ office statement did not name Lovren, in accordance with Croatian law. But local media confirmed the player concerned was the Liverpool defender while the attorney’s office in the eastern city of Osijek also identified Lovren, citing details from his testimony given a year ago.
Croatia’s captain and Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric was charged in March with false testimony in the same case. A conviction for false testimony in Croatia can bring a jail term of between six months and five years.
In June, a Croatian court sentenced Mamic to six-and-a-half years in prison for tax evasion and siphoning off profits from player transfers.
He fled to neighbouring Bosnia-Herzegovina 24 hours before the verdict with no intention to return to his native country. Although the Croatian court issued an arrest warrant for Mamic, he holds Bosnian citizenship.
Along with Mamic, his brother Zoran, former coach of the first team, was sentenced to four years and 11 months while Damir Vrbanovic, a senior official in the Croatian Federation, received three years; and tax officer Milan Pernar four years and two months.
A provincial court in Osijek ruled that the three were guilty of causing losses of €15 million to Dinamo and evading €1.5 million in taxes.
According to Croatian media, Lovren gave evidence about the dates of “signing annexes” to his professional contracts which regulated transfer fees.
For years Dinamo fans have alleged Mamic and his allies used their club to make money for themselves by depriving the club of funds from lucrative transfers and evading taxes.
On Wednesday Lovren denied the allegations and about his annoyance at finding out about the charges via the media rather than authorities in Croatia.
In an Instagram post, he wrote: “I did not commit any criminal offence. I am proud of my life, every step of my life, everything that my family and I have created… With indignation, I dismiss all accusations, and to anyone who wants to ruin my reputation and the reputation of my family, I say it will not succeed.”
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