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Spanish court confirms Barça’s Neymar transfer deal

A Spanish court on Tuesday ratified a deal that leaves Barcelona with a 5.5-million-euro ($6.2 million) fine but avoiding trial on tax evasion charges over Neymar's contested 2013 transfer.

Spanish court confirms Barça's Neymar transfer deal
Photo: AFP

The agreement, reached in July, lifts any threat of Barça president Josep Maria Bartomeu and his predecessor Sandro Rosell facing possible criminal proceedings that could lead to jail terms.

The deal between the club and Spanish prosecutors was confirmed on December 14 after an appeal against it by another former president, Joan Laporta, was rejected.

Neymar's arrival from Brazil's Santos has been a huge success for the Spanish champions on the pitch but a judicial nightmare off it.   

The 24-year-old Brazilian striker is being investigated in Brazil and Spain over his move to La Liga.

Barcelona originally published the transfer figure as €57.1 million, with €40 million of that given to the player's family.

But Spanish authorities believe the true transfer figure was at least €83 million.

In November, Spanish prosecutors recommended that the Brazil striker be handed a two-year jail sentence and a fine of 10 million euros for alleged corrupt practices.  

The case initiated with a complaint from Brazilian investment company DIS, which owned 40 percent of Neymar's sporting rights at the time of his transfer.    

DIS received just €6.8 million, 40 percent of the fee paid to Santos, with the company claiming it was cheated of its real share because part of the transfer fee was concealed by Barcelona, Santos and the Neymar family.

Sentences of two years or less are habitually suspended for first time offenders in Spain.

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RACISM

VIDEO: Spain’s La Liga reviews video of boy racially abusing Vinicius

Spain's La Liga on Monday said it was reviewing a video of a child making racist insults towards Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior during the 2-2 draw with Valencia at the weekend.

VIDEO: Spain's La Liga reviews video of boy racially abusing Vinicius

“We’re in the process of studying and analysing the facts from a legal standpoint to see what we can and should do,” La Liga sources said.

In a video published by a journalist for ESPN Brasil, and picked up by Spanish media, a boy sitting in a woman’s lap can be heard calling Vinicius a “monkey”.

https://twitter.com/GravesenFumado/status/1764242481984491822

The Brazilian scored twice for Madrid as his team recovered from two goals down at Mestalla on Saturday.

Vinicius raised his fist in a “Black Power” salute after the first of his two goals at a ground where he was racially abused last season. Valencia subsequently banned three people from the stadium for life.

The 23-year-old has become a symbol of the fight against discrimination in Spanish football after suffering racist abuse on many occasions, and he was jeered repeatedly by home supporters on Saturday.

Jude Bellingham was sent off after the final whistle against Valencia for protesting after the referee blew the final whistle right before the England midfielder headed home what he thought was the winning goal.

READ ALSO: Football star Vinicius highlights racist behaviour from Spanish fans

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