Croatia court drops Modric perjury charges

A Zagreb court has dropped charges that Croatia football captain and Real Madrid star Luka Modric gave false testimony in a corruption trial, a court spokesman said on Monday.

“There is not enough evidence that he (Modric) committed the criminal offense of perjury,” Kresimir Devcic told AFP.

The ruling, which closes the case, comes as Modric is hoping to be awarded the 2018 Ballon d’Or in Paris on Monday for taking his team to the 2018 World Cup finals in Moscow.

Croatia lost to France in the final but the small nation was overjoyed by its historic run, which temporarily quieted anguish over corruption and other problems plaguing the sport.

In March, Croatian prosecutors had charged Modric, 33, with committing perjury during evidence he gave in the multi-million-euro corruption trial of former Dinamo Zagreb boss Zdravko Mamic.

Modric testified in June last year over the details of his 2008 transfer from Dinamo to Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur.

He went on to join Real Madrid in 2012.

Mamic and three other defendants were found guilty of charges of abuse of power and corruption that cost Dinamo, the current Croatian champions, more than 15 million euros ($17.3 million), and the state 1.5 million euros.

Mamic, who is currently in hiding in neighboring Bosnia, was sentenced in June to six and a half years in jail.

Prosecutors allege cash was embezzled through fictitious deals related to player transfers.