Spain’s prosecutor calls for trial, jail for Barcelona boss

Spain’s prosecutor has requested the National Court open a trial against Barcelona football club, its current president Josep Bartomeu and his predecessor Alexandre "Sandro" Rosell for alleged tax evasion, including in the signing of Brazil striker Neymar.

In a statement released Monday, the prosecutor calls for jail terms of more than two years for Bartomeu and over seven years for Rosell, as well as the imposition of large fines.

The prosecutor calls for club itself to be fined 22,202,750 euros ($24 million) for allegedly false accounting in the tax returns of 2011, 2013 and 2014.

Investigating judge Pablo Ruz had on March 13 named Bartomeu and Rosell in a tax fraud and fraudulent administration probe into the signing of the 2013 signing of the Brazil star, alleging the club and its management fabricated a labyrinth of contracts to conceal the real cost of the signing.