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Sports News of Thursday, 4 June 2020

Source: www.mynigeria.com

Diego Costa slapped with six months jail term

Diego Costa Diego Costa

Atletico Madrid striker Diego Costa has been slapped with six months jail sentence after he pleaded guilty to a tax offence amounting to a total of €1.1m

The 31-year-old, who also played for Chelsea between 2014-2017, appeared in court in Madrid on Thursday morning dressed in a white mask.

According to Spanish newspaper, El Mundo, Costa will pay a hefty fine to avoid serving the time.

In compliance with the law in Spain, he has agreed to pay a fine of €507,208 (£453,000) as a punishment for defrauding the state as well as an additional €36,500 (£32,600) to avoid jail time.

The Spanish treasury charged the 31-year-old for defrauding the authorities regarding €1m (£890,000) in image rights.

The tax agency added another fiscal crime to Costa before withdrawing and halving the fine.

Costa has now agreed to pay €36,000 fine to avoid any jail time.

Speaking ahead of his court visit on Thursday, an Atletico spokesman told Reuters: "Diego Costa reached an agreement a few months ago with the prosecutor and has already paid the corresponding fine plus interest and the request for a prison sentence was withdrawn.

"This week it is expected that agreement will be ratified in court, as is mandatory."

Mirror