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Europe

Lionel Messi in court to testify in tax fraud case

Associated Press
Published | Updated
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    Barcelona soccer player Lionel Messi, center, arrives at a court in Barcelona, Spain, Thursday, June 2, 2016. Messi's tax trial began Tuesday. Messi and his father, Jorge Horacio, have been charged with three counts of tax fraud. They could be sentenced to nearly two years in prison if found guilty of defrauding Spain's tax authority of 4.1 million euros ($4.5 million) from 2007-09. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez) (The Associated Press)

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    Barcelona soccer player Lionel Messi, center back, arrives at a court in Barcelona, Spain, Thursday, June 2, 2016. Messi's tax trial began Tuesday. Messi and his father, Jorge Horacio, have been charged with three counts of tax fraud. They could be sentenced to nearly two years in prison if found guilty of defrauding Spain's tax authority of 4.1 million euros ($4.5 million) from 2007-09. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez) (The Associated Press)

  • d9f269ca-
    Image 3 of 3

    Barcelona soccer player Lionel Messi arrives at a court in Barcelona, Spain, Thursday, June 2, 2016. Messi's tax trial began Tuesday. Messi and his father, Jorge Horacio, have been charged with three counts of tax fraud. They could be sentenced to nearly two years in prison if found guilty of defrauding Spain's tax authority of 4.1 million euros ($4.5 million) from 2007-09. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez) (The Associated Press)

BARCELONA, Spain – Lionel Messi and his father are in court to defend themselves from tax fraud charges.

Wearing a dark suit and tie, Messi sat alongside his father in front of the judge during early proceedings in the third day of the trial.

Messi and his father, Jorge Horacio Messi, are facing three counts of tax fraud and could be sentenced to nearly two years in prison if found guilty of defrauding Spain's tax authority of 4.1 million euros ($4.5 million) from 2007-09. They are not likely to face any jail time but could be fined and have to forfeit possible future tax benefits.

Some people showed their support to the player as he arrived Thursday, while a few yelled words against him to "give the money back."