Bayern Munich President Hoeness Sentenced to Jail

Bayern Munich have been dealt a blow after President Uli Hoeness was sentenced to jail today for three and a half years for tax evasion.

The prosecution had hoped for a five-year sentence for the former West Germany international who handed himself in to the authorities earlier this month after confessing to evading 18.5 m Euros in taxes by using secret Swiss bank accounts to hide his income.

At the start of his trial on Monday, Hoeness declared he had provided all the evidence in his possession, and that he wanted all of the facts out in the open.

Hoeness apologized to the court and pleaded for leniency.

“I deeply regret my wrongdoing,” he said on Monday. “I’m doing everything I can to put this unhappy chapter behind me.”

However, prosecutors claimed the sum was in excess of 27m Euros and when confronted with the new figure Hoeness’ legal team admitted:

“The defence considers the figures accurate; we do not challenge them.”

The Judge said today: “The voluntary disclosure is not valid with the documents that were presented alone.”

Suspicions against Hoeness mounted last year as journalists and tax authorities began investigating his activities. He paid 10m Euros in back taxes in January 2013 to lessen his debt to the state.

Players and staff at Bayern Munich continued to express their support for Hoeness throughout the trial.

Bayern winger Franck Ribery said: “You can’t envisage Bayern without Hoeness. We need him.”

The defence said it would appeal against the sentence and Hoeness will remain free until a final verdict has been handed out.

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