French court jails Olympique Marseille ex-coach

By Staff
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Google Oneindia News

MARSEILLES, France, June 9 (Reuters) A French court found the former coach of Olympique Marseille Rolland Courbis and club owner Robert Louis-Dreyfus guilty today of involvement in a fraud scandal involving player transfers in the late 1990s.

Courbis was sentenced to three and a half years in prison and Louis-Dreyfus received a three-year suspended sentence, according to the verdict read out in the court.

The men were also fined 375,000 euros (480,800 dollars) each.

Prosecutors said some 22 million euros (28.21 million dollars) were illegally diverted from club funds as part of the transfer of 15 players between 1997 and 1999 -- including those of France 1998 World Cup winners Laurent Blanc and Christophe Dugarry.

The ruling, coming only hours before the first match of the 2006 World Cup finals, was another reminder of the seamy side of the game, which is still coming to terms with a major match-fixing scandal in Italy.

Reuters DH VV1509

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