Croatian police issue arrest warrant for former Dinamo coach

Updated May. 12, 2021 12:17 p.m. ET

Associated Press

ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — Croatian police on Wednesday issued an arrest warrant for former Dinamo Zagreb coach Zoran Mamic after he failed to show up to start serving a nearly five-year prison sentence for tax evasion and fraud.

Zoran Mamic and his brother Zdravko, who was Dinamo’s executive director, have both fled to neighboring Bosnia and as Bosnian citizens they are not subject to automatic extradition to Croatia.

The Mamic brothers were charged with embezzling the equivalent of $18 million from the sale of Dinamo Zagreb players to foreign clubs, and for tax evasion worth $2 million.

Zoran Mamic was in March sentenced by Croatia’s high court to four years and eight months in prison. Zdravko Mamic, who was sentenced to six years and six months, fled to Bosnia shortly after a lower court passed the original sentences in 2018.

The Mamic brothers were suspected of embezzlement through fictitious deals made during transfers of several former Dinamo players to foreign clubs, including Luka Modric to Tottenham in 2008.

The Real Madrid midfielder, a former FIFA player of the year, was a key witness during the trial, testifying about his financial deals with the Mamics.

The brothers have both denied any wrongdoing, saying that Modric and other prominent former Dinamo players should also be held legally accountable for the transfers that the Mamics negotiated.

___

More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports