BEVERLY HILLS, March 16, (THEWILL) – Dinamo Zagreb, the Croatian professional football club based in Zagreb has been jolted by the resignation of their manager Zoran Mamic after the coach was sentenced to a four-year and eight months jail term for fraudulent activity.
On Monday, Croatia’s Supreme Court passed the verdict which was confirmed by the country’s national broadcaster, Hrvatska Radiotelevizija (HRT). Incidentally, Mamic’s resignation comes in the build-up to the crucial Thursday’s return leg of Dinamo’s Europa League last 16 tie with Tottenham Hotspur.
Earlier, the coach had promised to leave his post if a guilty verdict was pronounced. The 49-year-old kept to his words in his statement released by the club after the judgement was handed down.
The statement read, in part: “Although I don’t feel guilty, I resign as I said before I would do if the sentence was confirmed. I wish all the good luck to the club.”
But, Mamic was not alone. There was also punishment reserved by the Croatian Supreme Court for Mamic’s brother, Zdravko, who was an executive at Dinamo. Zdravko bagged six and a half years in jail, while another former Dinamo director Damir Vrbanovic earned three years for their various levels of involvement in the fraud.
The guilty verdict on the trio came as the Court found them guilty of tax evasion worth 12.2m Croatian kuna (which is about £1.37m) and the embezzlement of another 116m kuna (about £13.13m) from Dinamo via transfers of players in the period that was investigated.
The club confirmed the appointment of former player Damir Krznar as new head coach. His debut will be a baptism of fire with the challenge of overturning a 2-0 deficit against Spurs in the Europa League come Thursday on their home grounds of Stadion Maksimir.
The English side benefited from their first leg home victory in north London from a Harry Kane brace either side of half time. However, Jose Mourinho’s charges head to the Croatian capital off the back of a dismal performance in their north London derby loss at Arsenal on Sunday, which ended 2-1 at the Emirates with Spurs down to 10 men after their goalscorer Eric Lamela was sent off for a second booking.
Kane’s South Korean partner-in-goals, Son Heung-min, will not be travelling with the squad after picking up a hamstring injury on Sunday. However, initial fears over the severity of the strain were dispelled with fresh optimism that he could return in time for Sunday’s game against Aston Villa in the Premiership at Villa Park.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
