March 16, 2021 - A Zdravko Mamić press conference was held in Mostar on Tuesday after the Croatian Supreme Court confirmed the verdict and thus a prison sentence that will send the fugitive to jail for 6.5 years.

The country's largest judicial institution has handed down a disgraceful verdict, Zdravko Mamić said at a press conference in Mostar, a day after the Supreme Court upheld an Osijek County Court ruling that the fugitive Dinamo leader was sentenced to six and a half years in prison for extracting HRK 116 from Dinamo, reports Jutarnji List and Index.hr.

In his lengthy statement, Mamić accused several judges, including Supreme Court President Djuro Sessa, of corruption and bribery. He pointed out that he will serve his prison sentence exclusively in BiH, adding that he has resigned from all positions in Dinamo.

"The largest judicial institution in the country has passed a shameful verdict. People will remain registered as criminals. There have been many political trials and staged trials in history, and this is one of them. We have not been convicted of tax evasion; it is nowhere written in the verdict. There is not a single euro of money laundering, and Dinamo, which is claimed to be damaged, claims that it is not damaged," Mamić said.

"My brother and I have not been convicted of a single kuna in taxes. Through Luka Modrić and Dejan Lovren, they have received the amounts charged to me. Luka Modrić still has millions of euros in that account, which he shared with me as an investor through a private contract. I took him as a refugee. We met and signed a money-sharing agreement; he withdrew the money, gave a part to me. No player in history has ever paid a single penny of tax. The only one in history to have paid is Dinamo," he said, adding:

"If the Mamić brothers have to return the money to the state budget, then Dejan Lovren and Luka Modrić must return it. To be fair, they are accomplices; they have the money, they came to court, we signed the annexes. Either we are in action together, or no one is in action. What kind of intelligence is needed, what kind of science is needed? How is it possible that 93 prosecution witnesses who came to Osijek testified in favor of Mamić? All 93 witnesses testified in favor of the Mamić brothers," he said.

"And the court during the trial, when it saw that everything was falling into the water, filed an indictment through its daughter company against Lovren and Modrić for false testimony." 

He accused Supreme Court President Djuro Sessa of being a criminal and a fraud.

"The man is a kleptomaniac, a criminal, and a fraud, a man who decides the law in a sovereign state of the Republic of Croatia. I am ready to put myself at the disposal of the State Attorney's Office and USKOK to prove that Sessa is a criminal and that I personally brought him money. I am ready to cooperate in proving that he is a criminal and a kidnapper of citizens' money," he said.

Mamić also accused the Osijek County Court judge Zvonko Vekić, judge Darko Krušlin, and the High Misdemeanor Court judge in Zagreb Nedjeljko Boban, of bribery.

"Vekić racketeered me, asked me to appoint him president of the court in Osijek. I paid him over EUR 500,000, and I have evidence for that," Mamić said, adding: "I have all the evidence against these thieves and criminals. There are others. The president of the court, Zvonko Vrban, is the biggest criminal who will be fired at some point," he said, emphasizing that he had informed the State Attorney's Office about everything.

Mamić emphasized that he would serve his prison sentence in Bosnia and Herzegovina if that happened.

"If that happens, I will serve my prison sentence exclusively in BiH. Lawyers know that I was never formally a fugitive, nor am I a fugitive today. When the first verdict was announced, I stayed in my home country. How can I escape from my own country," he said.

Mamić pointed out that he resigned from all positions in the club.

"I resigned my membership in the Dinamo assembly and asked to be relieved of my duties as a Dinamo advisor. I am no longer a member of any body, nor am I in formal employment. My resignations are irrevocable," Mamić said.

He called on the leading people of Dinamo to "thank the Mamić brothers."

"I am asking the leading people of the club to technically invite auditors to the club and make an inventory because that would be the biggest thank you to the Mamić brothers. It is important to know when we left and what kind of club we left. This is a delusion that we are thieves and criminals. Dinamo does not owe a penny. The results are great, this is one of the best seasons in history, and our team is worth EUR 110 million. I claim that our team is worth EUR 300 million thanks to the young talent. Dinamo is moving forward, and the club will continue where I left off," he said, adding that he fears a“ black scenario.”

"It is possible that Dinamo will not exist in three months. Dinamo is financed based on bank loans and repays them with realized transfers or future income from transfers or appearances in Europe. Suppose Dinamo were left without a title and income from the Champions League. When salaries were not paid for three months, the club would go bankrupt. It would finish in the lowest tier of the competition. We leave the club in 35th place in the UEFA rankings, and the danger is that it will disappear after a few months. I will do my best not to let that happen, even though I am not part of Dinamo. If that happens, those who caused it will be held accountable," Mamić said.

"Dinamo pays more into the budget in one year than all of Croatian sport in five years. We, who have brought historic successes and a billion euros, are exiled and doomed," he said.

He also spoke about the problem with the stadium.

"Give us back the land, and you will stop these lies and deceptions about how Dinamo is financed with taxpayers' money. It is a lie. The city takes care of the property, and that is the stadium. Give us back the land, and the citizens of Zagreb will never invest in the club again. Dinamo will build the stadium itself. Give us a concession, give us the right to build. Dinamo would build a stadium within three years, but they don't want to."

In addition to Zdravko Mamić, whose sentence was upheld, the Supreme Court reduced his brother Zoran Mamić's prison sentence from four years and 11 months to four years and eight months, and former tax collector Milan Pernar from four years and two months to three years and two months. Also, the Supreme Court overturned the verdict regarding the accusation that Zoran Mamić incited Pernar to abuse, and a retrial was ordered, the highest court announced.

Former Dinamo director Damir Vrbanović was confirmed with a first-instance verdict, sentencing him to three years in prison, the Supreme Court added in a statement citing only the initials of the accused.

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

March 16, 2021 - The latest football news in Croatia as Zoran Mamić resigns as Dinamo coach after the verdict was confirmed in the 'Mamić trial' on Monday.

On Monday, the Supreme Court confirmed the verdict against Zdravko and Zoran Mamić and former Dinamo director Damir Vrbanović.

Zdravko Mamić has now been sentenced to six and a half years in prison, and his brother Zoran Mamić, Dinamo's coach until last night, was sentenced to four years eight months in prison by the decision of the Supreme Court. Damir Vrbanović was sentenced to three years in prison.

After the verdict was announced, the question arose of whether Zoran Mamić could remain the coach of Dinamo. According to the letter of the law, he must leave the bench of the Croatian champion immediately. 

A few hours after the verdict was announced, the Dinamo coach also spoke.

"Although I do not feel guilty, as I announced earlier, if the verdict is final, I accept it as such and resign from the position of the GNK Dinamo head coach and sports director. I wish the club a lot of luck and sporting success in its future work," Mamić said.

At Monday's session of the GNK Dinamo Management Board, the current head coach and sports director's resignation was accepted. Damir Krznar was appointed to the head coach of Dinamo's first team, and will also serve as the club's sports director.

If Mamić had not resigned himself, Dinamo would have had to terminate his contract under the Sports Act, which states that no person who has been sentenced to more than six months can lead or organize sports competitions or perform professional sports activities.

Dinamo will play the return match of the Europa League round of 16 against Tottenham Hotspur in three days. In the Croatian championship, they hold first place with two points more and a game less than Osijek in second. 

Zoran Mamić sat on the Dinamo bench on two occasions, winning four championship titles and two Cups.

Source: Index.hr

You can read more about the Supreme Court verdict HERE. 

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

March 15, 2021 - The Croatian Supreme Court has issued a final verdict, confirming prison sentences for the Mamić brothers, Damir Vrbanović, and tax collector Milan Pernar.

Namely, Zdravko Mamić was sentenced to six years and six months in prison. Zoran Mamić, who is preparing for the match against Tottenham on Thursday as the Dinamo coach, has had his sentence reduced by three months and will serve four years and eight months in prison.

Damir Vrbanović was given three years, and Pernar three years and two months, reduced from four years and two months. The verdict was overturned in only one part, which refers to the point where Zoran Mamić was charged with inciting the abuse of former tax collector Milan Pernar, for which a retrial was ordered.

Almost three years since the invalid verdict, it has now been passed and become final, which means that Zoran Mamić and Vrbanović should go to prison at some point soon. The situation is significantly more complicated with Zdravko Mamić, who fled to BiH in June 2018, because the country will not extradite him to Croatia. As an explanation, they stated that the criminal offense for which he was convicted in Croatia was not defined as a criminal offense in BiH.

In addition to being sentenced to 6 and a half years in prison, Zdravko Mamić must return HRK 52 million.

Zdravko Mamić was convicted on all counts of the indictment, and after the intervention of the Supreme Court, he was convicted on all counts except one.

Zoran Mamić and Milan Pernar were found guilty of reducing Mamić's tax liabilities and accepting bribes, and Zoran Mamić was also found guilty of giving bribes. Zdravko, Zoran Mamić, and Vrbanović are guilty of splitting the Dejan Lovren transfer and Zdravko Mamić for splitting the Luka Modrić transfer. 

You can read the verdict in detail on the official website of the Supreme Court. According to the verdict, Dinamo was damaged by HRK 80 million.

Part of the court statement transmitted below:

"The second defendant, the executive vice-president and board member of the football club, and the fourth defendant, the general manager, and a board member, in agreement with the third defendant, falsely claimed that one player was entitled to half of the club's transfer fee. The player forwarded the money to the third defendant, who repaid the loans given to him by the club.

They thus damaged the football club by HRK 35,840,396.14 and obtained a profit of HRK 25,894,262.83 for the third defendant.

The fourth event concerns the conviction of another defendant, the executive vice-president and a member of the football club's board, for negligence over the club's property interests. He knew when one player left the club in 2008 that there was no contract under which half of the transfer amount should go to the player and half to the club. He subsequently untruthfully made an annex on the division of the transfer amount between the club and the player into equal parts, which he antedated. He thus created an apparent basis for the division of money. The money was paid from the club's account to the player's account, who then handed the money over to the other defendant and according to his instructions to members of his family. Thus, the second defendant obtained HRK 52,037,4335.73 for himself and damaged the football club by HRK 80,030,927.25."

Source: GOL.hr, Index.hr

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

Another day in the life of Zdravko Mamić. 

Liverpool defender and World Cup finalist Dejan Lovren was charged with perjury on Wednesday.

The County State Attorney's Office in Osijek has filed an indictment against Dejan Lovren for giving false testimony in the trial against Zdravko Mamić. 

The World Cup's best player will be tried for giving false testimony in Zagreb. 

Croatia's favorite football threesome continues to gain the attention of international media. 

More hot water for another one of Croatia's national team players as DORH launches an investigation into Dejan Lovren's false testimony. 

The County State Attorney's Office in Osijek filed an indictment against the captain of the Croatia national football team, Luka Modrić, for giving false testimony in the trial of former Dinamo leader Zdravko Mamić.