FORMER Liverpool star Djibril Cisse is facing a prison sentence after being accused of tax evasion in France.
The France striker spent two seasons at Anfield, scoring 24 goals in 82 games and winning the Champions League before leaving for Marseille in 2006.
Cisse. 43, later played for Sunderland and Queens Park Rangers. He now works as a DJ and a pundit.
But prosecutors told a court on Wednesday that they want the ex-international to receive a one-year suspended jail term and £85,000 fine.
The hearing at Bastia criminal court went ahead in Cisse’s absence. It is due to give its verdict on November 13.
The trial heard an account set up to handle Cisse’s tax affairs was £465,000 in debt.
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Prosecutors claimed the ex-player was guilty of tax evasion for not having declared this sum to France’s equivalent of HMRC.
Meanwhile Cisse was said to owe a further £195,000 from failing to declare VAT revenue on his income from image rights.
Cisse’s lawyer Malcolm Mouldaia told the court: “He has been going through this case for years. He owes huge sums to the tax authorities.
“There can be no case of money laundering, as there is no tax fraud on his part.
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“He has had problems with his accountancy firm, as they have not handled his case well – and they have not kept him informed.”
Liverpool paid Auxerre £14million for Cisse in 2004, and he helped them win the Champions League and FA Cup.
He left for Marseille, initially on loan, and went on to play in Greece, Italy, Qatar, Russia, Reunion and Switzerland as well as Sunderland and QPR.
Cisse won 41 caps for France, scoring nine goals.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
