<p>Luka Modric, the captain of the national team, and former player Dejan Lovren were once again accused by Croatian authorities on Thursday of providing false evidence in a significant corruption case involving football.</p>
<p>During the multimillion-euro corruption trial of former Dinamo Zagreb manager Zdravko Mamic in 2017, both players testified as witnesses and provided information on their transfers from the current Croatian champions.</p>
<p>Modric gave testimony at the time about the specifics of his 2008 move from Dinamo to Premier League team Tottenham Hotspur. Later, in 2012, he joined Real Madrid.<img decoding=”async” class=”alignnone wp-image-46993″ src=”https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/www.theindiaprint.com-luka-modric-and-dejan-lovren-are-accused-of-lying-in-a-2017-corruption-trial-in-croatia-download-2023-06-30t101716.948.jpg” alt=”” width=”1049″ height=”729″ srcset=”https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/www.theindiaprint.com-luka-modric-and-dejan-lovren-are-accused-of-lying-in-a-2017-corruption-trial-in-croatia-download-2023-06-30t101716.948.jpg 269w, https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/www.theindiaprint.com-luka-modric-and-dejan-lovren-are-accused-of-lying-in-a-2017-corruption-trial-in-croatia-download-2023-06-30t101716.948-150×104.jpg 150w” sizes=”(max-width: 1049px) 100vw, 1049px” /></p>
<p>Lovren gave information on his 2010 move from French team Lyon to Dinamo, where he is presently playing.</p>
<p>Both players were accused of perjury in 2018, but the accusations against them were ultimately withdrawn for lack of proof — against Modric in 2018, and against Lovren in the early months of 2019.</p>
<p>Prosecutors in the eastern town of Osijek on Thursday accused two persons for “giving false testimony” based only on their birth years. They were recognized as Modric and Lovren by the local media.</p>
<p>According to prosecutors, Modric is accused of giving a false statement “on June 13, 2017, before the Osijek county court”, referring to the day the star midfielder testified during the Mamic trial.</p>
<p>On September 1st, 2017, Lovren was charged.</p>
<p>In Croatia, perjury carries a maximum sentence of five years in jail.</p>
<p>Mamic and the other three defendants were found guilty of allegations of misuse of authority and corruption, which cost Dinamo $16.3 million and the state $1.5 million.</p>
<p>The indictment claims that money was embezzled via fraudulent player transfer arrangements.</p>
<p>Mamic, who is presently evading capture in neighboring Bosnia and is regarded as the football czar of the Balkan nation, received a six-and-a-half-year prison term.</p>
<p>Only a few days before, Real Madrid announced that Modric, 37, would sign a new contract that would keep him with the club until June 2024.</p>
<p>Croatia was led to the 2018 World Cup finals in Russia by the seasoned player.</p>
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