Barcelona forward Lionel Messi and his father
Jorge Horacio Messi are to appeal to the Spanish Supreme Court after being
found guilty of three counts of tax fraud at a court in Barcelona.
A statement said lawyers for Messi and his father believed that the sentence was "incorrect" and "expect the outcome of their appeal to rule in favour of the defence."
It said lawyers Enrique Bacigalupo and Javier
Sanchez-Vera believed the appeal would "show Lionel acted correctly at all
times, as did his father."A statement said lawyers for Messi and his father believed that the sentence was "incorrect" and "expect the outcome of their appeal to rule in favour of the defence."
Both Lionel and Jorge Messi were sentenced to 21 months in prison earlier on Wednesday, although neither is likely to serve any jail time.
Under Spanish law, a tax prison sentence under two years can be served under probation.
The lawyers "stressed that both Lionel and Jorge were aware of their tax obligations and, for this reason, approached a firm specializing in tax management for athletes" -- but the court "considered they were not well advised."
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