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Lionel Messi and his father, Jorge, have been sentenced to 21 months in prison for tax evasion but under Spanish law a prison sentence under two years can be served on probation, meaning they are unlikely to serve any time.
A Spanish court found the 29-year-old Argentina striker and his father Jorge guilty of three counts of tax fraud. In a statement, the court has said their sentences can be appealed through the country’s Supreme Court. The court ordered Messi to pay a fine of around 2 million euros (£1.7million) and his father to pay 1.5 million euros for the crimes.
