Real Madrid’s Luka Modrić could be facing jail time for perjury
By Alex McVey
Luka Modrić might be in legal trouble in Croatia for a suspected perjury charge. If found guilty, Modrić could face up to five years in prison.
While Luka Modrić has been winning over Madridistas with his outstanding displays in Spain, he has significantly damaged his reputation in his native Croatia.
The controversy involves Modric’s recent testimony in the criminal trial of former Dinamo Zagreb director Zdravko Mamic. As The Guardian reports, Mamic is one of the most powerful figures in Croation football, and is being accused of embezzlement and improperly reporting Modrić’s transfer fees in order to avoid paying taxes.
The case is pretty complicated. The finer legal points revolve around the precise time Modrić signed a certain annex to his contract.
The prosecution is trying to prove that the annex on Modrić’s contract, which would allow the club and the player to split the fee on a 50-50 basis, was signed post-hoc, after the player had already been sold.
Modrić is being accused of lying under oath about the status of his contracts. When pressed on the timeline of the agreements last week, Modrić stumbled and appeared nervous. His answers about when these contracts were sign do not add up to his testimony from two years earlier.
Modrić’s sudden retraction of his earlier statement caused an uproar in Croatia, because it signaled to some an apparent willingness to bend the truth in an effort to shield Mamic from scrutiny. Mamic is one of the most hated figures in Croatian football, and has become a lightning rod for discussions about financial corruption by Croatian footballing entities.
As a result, Modrić, once one of the most popular figures in Croatian football, has become one of its most controversial. Vandals defaced the hotel that once housed Modrić’s family when they were refugees during his youth, a visible sign of the sudden sea change in Croatian popular opinion about Madrid’s midfield maestro.
This is the hotel in Zadar where the Modrić family used to live as war refugees. "Luka, you'll remember this one day" (via @Jutarnji) pic.twitter.com/LcjYcMejyY
— Aleksandar Holiga (@AlexHoliga) June 14, 2017
This is not a great look for Luka Modrić. It seems like Mamic is truly a corrupt individual, and it sucks to hear that Modric might be trying to cover for him.
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We’ll have to wait and see how this plays out.
But if convicted, Modrić could face a five-year prison sentence. Perjury is a pretty serious charge.
Could Luka actually end up behind prison bars? A Croatian legal expert recently told Total Croatia News that there are many hurdles standing in the way of that outcome.
To prove that someone perjured, you must prove that they knowingly and intentionally misled the court. Proving intent is really difficult.
And even if they can prove intent, the crime itself is rarely prosecuted in Croatia, and often results in suspended sentences.
So, chances are, Lukita will not be seen in an orange jumpsuit any time soon. But it’s a scary sounding possibility nonetheless.
Let’s hope Luka gets his legal situation figured out. He’s one of Madrid’s most important players, and having him concentrated fully on his on-pitch activities could be huge for Madrid’s success next season.