Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp was found not guilty of tax evasion yesterday following a three-week trial into allegations he stashed hundred of thousands of dollars in an offshore bank account.
Redknapp’s co-accused, Milan Mandaric, was also unanimously acquitted of all charges in dramatic scenes at a packed Southwark Crown Court.
Redknapp and Mandaric hugged each other in the dock following the conclusion of the trial which had seen both men’s reputations at stake.
Photo: Reuters
The Spurs manager was close to tears while giving evidence last week as prosecutors accused him of telling a pack of lies to the court.
The most successful English manager currently working in soccer, Redknapp is regarded as the favorite to replace England boss Fabio Capello later this year, with his Spurs side currently third in the Premier League table.
Any guilty verdict against Redknapp would have effectively ended his chances of becoming England boss, a job he has previously said he would be unable to turn down if offered to him.
Yesterday’s acquittal leaves Redknapp free to pursue his dream of managing England.
Bookmakers immediately slashed their odds on him taking over from Capello following the verdict.
“These unfounded allegations should never have been brought to court,” Mandaric said in a statement outside court amid a scrum of media. “I need to go and find somewhere to wake up from this bad dream.”
Redknapp, 64, and Mandaric, 73, had denied two counts of cheating the public revenue by failing to declare US$295,000 kept in a Monaco bank account.
Prosecutors alleged the money was paid to Redknapp by Mandaric when the two men were manager and owner of Portsmouth respectively, as part of a bonus arising from the sale of striker Peter Crouch, but Redknapp said the money was paid by Mandaric to help with investments in the US and that he believed any taxes owing on the amount had already been paid by his chairman.
Redknapp’s defense barrister John Kelsey-Fry QC had argued the case against the Spurs boss was “repugnant to all our basic instincts of fairness.”
Addressing jurors in his closing remarks on Monday, Kelsey-Fry said there was an “inherent absurdity” in the prosecution’s reliance on “primarily despicable” evidence gathered by a News of the World reporter.
Lawyers for Mandaric, meanwhile, argued the prosecution’s claim that the money paid into the Monaco account was a bonus “simply doesn’t make sense.”
“We say the evidence against him is hopelessly weak,” Mandaric’s barrister Lord MacDonald told the court.
“In Milan Mandaric’s mind this was not money for Crouch, this was Milan Mandaric coming through on money he had promised months before — for a portfolio,” the barrister said.
After the acquittal, reporting restrictions on an earlier tax evasion case involving Mandaric and former Portsmouth chief executive Peter Storrie were lifted. Both men were acquitted.
A runner who stopped during a marathon in China to pose doing the splits and another who hoarded energy gels have been banned for two years, the local athletics association said yesterday. The incidents happened during Sunday’s marathon in Sichuan Province’s Chengdu and were widely shared online. Videos showed a female runner stopping suddenly and dropping to the ground in the splits position, holding up her arms in a heart shape as she apparently posed for a photograph. She “committed obstructive fouls during the race, affecting the safe participation of other runners,” the Sichuan Athletics Association said in a statement, which identified
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli yesterday vowed to “keep raising the bar” after winning the Japanese Grand Prix to become the youngest driver in Formula One history to lead the championship standings. The 19-year-old Italian took advantage of a mid-race safety car to jump into the lead after a dreadful start from pole position, crossing the line ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Antonelli’s Suzuka victory came two weeks after the first grand prix win of his career in China, and sent him top of the championship standings after three races, nine points ahead of team-mate George Russell. Mercedes are struggling to
Yu Yao-hsing on Tuesday nabbed Taiwan’s only goal in the final round of qualifiers for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, as they fell 3-1 to Sri Lanka at Taipei Municipal Stadium. Early goals from Sri Lanka in the first half left Taiwan struggling to get on the board, and Christopher Tiao’s own goal at 53 minutes sealed the team’s fate in the third round of qualifiers. While acknowledging that the defeat, Taiwan’s sixth in Group D, was disappointing, head coach Matt Ross said he saw reasons to stay positive about the team’s development. “There were lots of positive signs in terms of the
Teng Kai-wei, the only Taiwanese player on an opening-day roster in this year’s Major League Baseball (MLB) season, took his first win of the year with the Houston Astros in his season debut. Teng entered in relief in the top of the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday, with the Astros trailing 5-0. He pitched 2-1/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts, as Houston scored 11 runs during his outing to snatch an 11-9 comeback victory. The win is the Astros’ first of the season and the third of Teng’s MLB career. “It’s my first time pitching for the Astros, so
RSS