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Lionel Messi Loses Appeal Against 21-Month Prison Sentence for Tax Fraud

Lionel Messi lost his appeal to the Spanish Supreme Court against a 21-month prison sentence for tax fraud on Wednesday.

According to MailOnline's Pete South, the Barcelona superstar's father, Jorge, had his sentence reduced from 21 months to 15 months, although neither is likely to serve jail time due to Spanish laws on sentences under two years for non-violent crimes.

South notes it is common in Spanish law for defendants without previous convictions to avoid jail time for such crimes.

Per Ed Aarons in the Guardian, Messi, 29, and his father were initially handed their sentences by a Barcelona court last July after being found guilty of evading €4.