Lionel Messi, father given new date in court in tax fraud case

SPORTS

Lionel Messi, father given new date in court in tax fraud case

The Associated Press Published Tuesday, September 10, 2013 12:00PM EDT

Argentina's Lionel Messi kicks the ball during a training session ahead of the team's 2014 World Cup qualifying soccer match against Paraguay, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, Sept. 6, 2013. (AP / Natacha Pisarenko)

Text:

MADRID, Spain -- A Spanish court says Lionel Messi and his father have been given a new date to appear in a tax fraud case.

Messi and his father, Jorge Horacio, had been due in court on Sept. 17, a day before Barcelona's Champions League match against Ajax, but the court suspended that hearing.

In a ruling published Tuesday, the court now requires Messi to appear on Sept. 27 at 11 a.m., one hour after his father.

Messi's father made a payment of more than 5 million euros ($6.6 million) on Aug. 14 to cover alleged taxes outstanding plus interest.

The complaint, lodged by a state prosecutor, said Messi tried to conceal earnings and that he owed $5.3 million in back taxes.