Lionel Messi - 21 month jail sentence for tax fraud

BoJack Horseman

Breaking on the Beeb.

I'm predicting the amount of days that Lionel will actually spend behind bars will be a consistent zero.

*Edit*..... I think it's 'suspended'.
So, yeah.... he got off scot free essentially.

mansize

It will be zero

flazio

BoJack Horseman wrote: »

Breaking on the Beeb.

I'm predicting the amount of days that Lionel will actually spend behind bars will be a consistent zero.

He'll probably have to do some charity work of some sort which let's face it is far more beneficial to society then locking him away from public view.

Manutd_4life

He's rich and famous and one of the best athletes currently breathing on this planet.

He will spend zero time behind bars

godtabh

Twitter says suspended sentence

How Soon Is Now

I'd love to see him serve the whole time!

mansize

Well 6 years for murder for a sports star in South Africa

Manutd_4life

Manutd_4life wrote: »

He's rich and famous and one of the best athletes currently breathing on this planet.

He will spend zero time behind bars

And that makes it fair because??

Mec27

I was going to get a criminal record for an unpaid dart fare, **** society.

murpho999

Manutd_4life wrote: »

He's rich and famous and one of the best athletes currently breathing on this planet.

He will spend zero time behind bars

Does being rich and famous put him above the law?

A suspended sentence is still very serious. He is now a criminal.

Cantona's Collars

21 month suspended sentence,under Spanish law anything under 2 years can be suspended.Very convenient the sentence was 3 months under the limit.:rolleyes:

In this country a man gets 6 years for tax fraud on importing garlic,a millionaire footballer gets a suspended sentence for a multi million tax fraud in Spain.

gimmick

murpho999 wrote: »

Does being rich and famous put him above the law?

A suspended sentence is still very serious. He is now a criminal.

I don't think he was saying he is above the law. Just a fact that he is very rich and famous and would not serve a moments time.

Also, there is no criminal conviction, therefore no criminal record as a result.

Lovely Bloke

murpho999 wrote: »

Does being rich and famous put him above the law?

Yes.

It always has done and continue to do so.

Now, in a perfect society it wouldn't, but we don't, so it does.

BoJack Horseman

murpho999 wrote: »

A suspended sentence is still very serious. He is now a criminal.

In reality though, no one will give a salty f*ck.

Whe he goes abroad he might have to have his passport scrutinised at some such... (ie: autographs & selfies with border-control staff).

It won't be in any way a big deal for him, I doubt he'll notice.

gimmick

zerks wrote: »

21 month suspended sentence,under Spanish law anything under 2 years can be suspended.Very convenient the sentence was 3 months under the limit.:rolleyes:

In this country a man gets 6 years for tax fraud on importing garlic,a millionaire footballer gets a suspended sentence for a multi million tax fraud in Spain.

He presumably will pay the back tax, along with a substantial fine and can go on to earn more money now on which you can be pretty sure he/someone will pay the tax on. Putting him in prison would cost the taxpayer money. Some community service is far more beneficial than a custodial sentence. Not like he killed/harmed anyone.

Also, using the garlic importer guy is a poor example to use as that was a ridiculous sentence. But he was misdeclaring garlic on which there isa very high rate of duty on as something with zero duty on. He knowingly was breaking the law. Still overly harsh though and would be better served doing community service rather than costing those of us who have jobs money in our taxes. People in Ireland have been given smaller sentences for manslaughter ffs.

Lovely Bloke

Also, I love the way everyone is now an expert on Spanish tax law and precedence in tax avoision cases, for all anyone here actually knows this is a very, very harsh sentence.

But no, outraged people are outraged.

And I'm no Messi fanboi neither.

The_Kew_Tour

All Ronaldo's fault anyway

murpho999

gimmick wrote: »

I don't think he was saying he is above the law. Just a fact that he is very rich and famous and would not serve a moments time.

Also, there is no criminal conviction, therefore no criminal record as a result.

He has been found guilty and has therefore been convicted but had his sentence suspended. That gives him a criminal record.

Lovely Bloke

murpho999 wrote: »

He has been found guilty and has therefore been convicted but had his sentence suspended. That gives him a criminal record.

Oh, here's the Spanish Law expert. Nice one.

The_Kew_Tour

Baldy Conscience wrote: »

Also, I love the way everyone is now an expert on Spanish tax law and precedence in tax avoision cases, for all anyone here actually knows this is a very, very harsh sentence.

But no, outraged people are outraged.

And I'm no Messi fanboi neither.

He won't spend minute in jail so hardly harsh

Lovely Bloke

The_Kew_Tour wrote: »

He won't spend minute in jail so hardly harsh

What kind of sentence did other first-time tax dodgers get in Spain? How does it compare to those sentences?

Harshness is relative.

cdeb

Will the conviction have any impact on travelling to the US for pre-season games, or to outside the EU for Champions' League games?

Lovely Bloke

cdeb wrote: »

Will the conviction have any impact on travelling to the US for pre-season games, or to outside the EU for Champions' League games?

No.

Skylinehead

zerks wrote: »

21 month suspended sentence,under Spanish law anything under 2 years can be suspended.Very convenient the sentence was 3 months under the limit.:rolleyes:

In this country a man gets 6 years for tax fraud on importing garlic,a millionaire footballer gets a suspended sentence for a multi million tax fraud in Spain.

God, yet another invocation of Garlic Guy. People go on about him like he's some sort of angel for some reason.

gimmick

murpho999 wrote: »

He has been found guilty and has therefore been convicted but had his sentence suspended. That gives him a criminal record.

It doesn't reach 24 months, therefore no official criminal record.

andekwarhola

murpho999 wrote: »

A suspended sentence is still very serious. He is now a criminal.

That will really go against him when he's looking for a minimum wage 9-5 after he stops playing ball.

martyos121

Whatever about him spending no time behind bars, this will seriously damage his name for the next few years. He won't be remembered for this by any means in 20 years time, but the Messi brand as it is will be hugely tarnished now.

What I'm wondering now is if the club takes any action against him (suspension, further fine for illegal activity, he won't be released though I'm sure). Messi always seemed like a decent honest lad but it just goes to show none of us have a clue what footballers are really like, not that it matters a great deal.

Lovely Bloke

gimmick wrote: »

It doesn't reach 24 months, therefore no official criminal record.

shut up with your facts, he's a criminal now and should be in jail for twenty years.

Cantona's Collars

The_Kew_Tour wrote: »

He won't spend minute in jail so hardly harsh

He should and then we could see a reboot of the movie Mean Machine where Messi and the cons take on the guards in a football match.:pac:

Lovely Bloke

martyos121 wrote: »

Whatever about him speaking no time behind bars, this will seriously damage his name for the next few years. He won't be remembered for this by any means in 20 years time, but the Messi brand as it is will be hugely tarnished now.

I'm sure he can cry into his remaining bank account

martyos121 wrote: »

What I'm wondering now is if the club takes any action against him (suspension, further fine for illegal activity, he won't be released though I'm sure).

This is Barcelona you are talking about, yes?

kupus

Skylinehead wrote: »

God, yet another invocation of Garlic Guy. People go on about him like he's some sort of angel for some reason.

And why not?

it shows how fooked up the justice industry is in Ireland

Lovely Bloke

kupus wrote: »

And why not?

it shows how fooked up the justice industry is in Ireland

which bears zero relation to the Spanish Tax situation at all.

Narcissus

Baldy Conscience wrote: »

Also, I love the way everyone is now an expert on Spanish tax law and precedence in tax avoision cases, for all anyone here actually knows this is a very, very harsh sentence.

But no, outraged people are outraged.

And I'm no Messi fanboi neither.

:P

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpEaFmK3lrY

alchemist33

zerks wrote: »

He should and then we could see a reboot of the movie Mean Machine where Messi and the cons take on the guards in a football match.:pac:

There has to be a huge dopey lad as centre half, who's in for manslaughter after tragically kiling a guy who taunted him, with one punch.

Skylinehead

kupus wrote: »

And why not?

it shows how fooked up the justice industry is in Ireland

Why? The man defrauded the state for millions of euro. Should he get off scot-free?

And he got 3 years, not 6. Funny how that never gets mentioned.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

gimmick wrote: »

It doesn't reach 24 months, therefore no official criminal record.

Pretty sure it's a criminal record upon conviction, irrespective of the sentence.

Lovely Bloke

the constant referrals to the garlic fella are pretty funny, people using it wildly out of context.

What it has to do with Messi not paying tax in Spain is anyone's guess.

gimmick

kupus wrote: »

And why not?

it shows how fooked up the justice industry is in Ireland

Not necessarily. He knowingly defrauded the revenue of money in duty payments. It could be deemed as harsh in relation to fellas getting out of prison after 3 years for GBH certainly. But perhaps it si the GBH convictions need looking at rather than the fraud one!

Manutd_4life

murpho999 wrote: »

Does being rich and famous put him above the law?

A suspended sentence is still very serious. He is now a criminal.

Unfortunately yes it does. If he was a regular bloke he would have to serve his time, but in reality he isn't going to serve a minute.

It is unfair but so is this society. I would love to be wrong though

Lovely Bloke

Princess Consuela Bananahammock wrote: »

Pretty sure it's a criminal record upon conviction, irrespective of the sentence.

Another Spanish tax law expert

MD1990

He has no previous convictions & has payed back the money so hardly a surprise he didn't get a guaranteed jail sentence.

Pickpocket

Baldy Conscience wrote: »

Also, I love the way everyone is now an expert on Spanish tax law and precedence in tax avoision cases, for all anyone here actually knows this is a very, very harsh sentence.

But no, outraged people are outraged.

And I'm no Messi fanboi neither.

The possibility of fanboyism and club bias brings to mind the whole Suarez/Evra affair. Who would have thought that so many Liverpool fans were also experts in comparative-language analysis and linguistic functionalism.

Or when Eva Carneiro's case against Chelsea and Jose Mourinho finished some weeks back, and a healthy number of Man U fans, consisting of recent 'Special One' converts, surprised us all with their understanding of the finer aspects of UK employment tribunal law.

MD1990

Baldy Conscience wrote: »

Also, I love the way everyone is now an expert on Spanish tax law and precedence in tax avoision cases, for all anyone here actually knows this is a very, very harsh sentence.

But no, outraged people are outraged.

And I'm no Messi fanboi neither.

These people are also Ronaldo fanboys,Man Utd fans & don't like Barcelona.

GavRedKing

Messi was playing dumb about it anyway and it was his father handling his affairs and image rights on his behalf.

Did anyone expect him to serve any jail time anyway? He'll pay, I pressume a huge fine, more than what he defrauded the authorities out of and get a suspended sentence, job done.

BoJack Horseman

Baldy Conscience wrote: »

the constant referrals to the garlic fella are pretty funny, people using it wildly out of context.

What it has to do with Messi not paying tax in Spain is anyone's guess.

What is odd is that nearly half of the posts in this thread are yours!

Is lionel a family member or something?

No one wants to hang the guy by his thumbs.
But you can forgive us poor peons for feeling surprise at such a lenient sentence.

Cantona's Collars

alchemist33 wrote: »

There has to be a huge dopey lad as centre half, who's in for manslaughter after tragically kiling a guy who taunted him, with one punch.

I'm trying to think of an Adam Johnson joke that won't get me carded:P

MD1990

His father, Jorge Messi, was also given a jail term for defrauding Spain of €4.1m (£3.5m; $4.5m) between 2007 and 2009.

So during these years Messi was between the ages of 18-21. He probably had nothing to with it at all & his father was probably handling it.

Cantona's Collars

Will Messi win the Bail On D'Or ?

martyos121

MD1990 wrote: »

So during these years Messi was between the ages of 18-21. He probably had nothing to with it at all & his father was probably handling it.

We don't know that for certain though, as likely as it sounds. At that age he probably wasn't fully aware/particularly bothered about potential consequences, if he had a part in it directly at all. Big if too of course.

Pickpocket

"Oh garlic bread, please guide me!"

siblers

zerks wrote: »

21 month suspended sentence,under Spanish law anything under 2 years can be suspended.Very convenient the sentence was 3 months under the limit.:rolleyes:

In this country a man gets 6 years for tax fraud on importing garlic,a millionaire footballer gets a suspended sentence for a multi million tax fraud in Spain.

Begley evaded an estimated €1.6m in custom duty, anyway, his was allowed leave prison early to do community service.