Dejan Lovren has been found guilty of illegally taking fifty percent of his transfer fee when he moved from Dinamo Zagreb to Lyon and is expected to be tried for perjury alongside Luka Modric.
Aleksandar Holiga reports that Dejan Lovren and Luka Modric have been found guilty of illegally taking portions of their transfer fees and then forwarding that money to former executive director of Zagreb Zdravko Mamić’.
The two Croatian internationals were involved as witnesses in a prosecution and changed their testimonies in favour of Mamić and with Modric already charged, Lovren is expected to be as well.
Mamić was charged with making huge personal profits from player transfers and was sentenced to nearly seven years in prison.
Croatian court finds that Dejan Lovren illegally took 50% of the transfer fee made from his move from Dinamo Zagreb to Lyon in 2010, according to @AlexHoliga. Both Lovren & Luka Modric expected to be tried for perjury.
— Get French Football (@GFFN) June 6, 2018
Naturally, this news has come as a shock to Liverpool fans and many have take to Twitter to express their thoughts.
Lovren could face 6 months to 5 years in prison. Madness.
— – (@AnfieldRd96) June 6, 2018
With Croatian courts after Dejan Lovren, question marks surrounding both Ragnar Klavan’s health and Joël Matip’s fitness over the long term, it surely makes sense for us to be looking at a top quality centre-back this summer, and not Lascelles or Tarkowski.
— Mik (@MikLFC) June 6, 2018
This is the criminal Mamic’s work, who threatens, extorts & bullies many Croatian players. Kramaric’s career suffered badly because he wouldn’t agree to Mamic’s demands. Check the details before judging Lovren too harshly. https://t.co/Y9p591jn8z
— Taintless Red (@TaintlessRed) June 6, 2018
According to Holiga, in Croatia, if a sentence of five or more years is handed out, the defendant must go to prison regardless of appeals.
There’s a chance that Lovren could receive a sentence of fewer than five years or a fine which means he could continue playing for Liverpool but there’s no doubt that this is a serious situation that could have damaging repercussions for the defender.