April 11, (THEWILL) – French international footballer, Wissam Ben Yedder, has been given a prison sentence of six months and one day and fined €133,798 by a Spanish court for tax evasion.
The 32-year-old forward, who played for Sevilla from 2016 to 2019, has had his prison sentence suspended, as the offence dates back to his time playing in Spain. According to a ruling from the Provincial Court of Seville, Ben Yedder failed to submit an income tax return on time and “consciously falsified” a self-assessment by not declaring interest he received as income in three accounts, and earnings from a sponsorship deal with Adidas.
The court found that Ben Yedder had paid €225,323.25 initially, and later added a payment of €51,007.41 to cover for what was found to be the shortfall, plus interest, once it was discovered he should have paid €267,597.40. The fine imposed on Ben Yedder, agreed by all parties, amounts to 50 per cent of the total described by the court as the “defrauded fee”.
The punishment’s prison element has been suspended for two years, conditional on him not reoffending. “In view of the imposed sentence of six months and one day in prison and the lack of a criminal record, together with the fact of having satisfied civil responsibilities, it is appropriate to agree to the suspension,” the court stated.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
