Messi set to face trial over alleged tax fraud

Lionel Messi is set to face trial for alleged tax fraud after a judge rejected his appeal to have the charges dropped on Friday. The judge ruled that Messi should have been aware of how his father was managing his financial affairs, meaning a criminal case may now proceed against the pair. Lionel and Jorge Messi both appeared in court in the Catalan town of Gava in September 2013, in a case taken as Spain's tax authorities maintain that "image rights" payments made to the player have been channelled through offshore tax havens, leading to the evasion of €4.1 million (£3.2m) in taxes between 2007 and 2009.