NY Times · Oct 8, 2015
Messi Ordered to Stand Trial in Tax Case
MADRID — Lionel Messi, the star of F.C. Barcelona, is set to appear in court alongside his father to face tax fraud charges relating to past advertising contracts.
The judge in charge of the case has not yet set a date for the trial, according to reports in the Spanish news media on Thursday. The judge’s decision follows a report from the state legal services, which represent Spain’s national tax agency and called for Messi and his father, Jorge Horacio, to face charges that carry a sentence of as much as 22 months in prison.