Maradona Cleared Off Tax Evasion Charges By Italy Court 3 Years After His Death

Argentinian legendary footballer Diego Maradona has been cleared off his tax evasion charges by Italy court years after his death. Here are the details.

Diego Maradona led Napoli to their only ever European title back in 1989, against Stuttgart

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Legendary footballer Diego Maradona, who passed away on 25 November 2020, in Dique Luján, Argentina, has been cleared off by the Italy Court from his long-standing tax evasion charges. The prodigal son of Naples and their club Napoli is a beloved figure in the region as his antics in the late 80's brought immense success and popularity for Napoli as they went on to win European Cup and couple of Serie A's.

However, his fanfare with fans still lives on but such wasn't the case with the owners of Napoli SSC as this saga was a 30-year-long legal battle between him and revenue authorities, on the issue of his personal image rights. Diego Armando Maradona has had several names his entire career and one was "El Pibe de Oro", which means the Golden Foot. The Napoli great was accused of allegedly using proxy companies in his case of image rights. The companies were reportedly from the country of Liechtenstein, which reportedly helped the Argentinian to avoid legal fees when receiving payments. The imfamous issue lasted from the years 1985, till 1990, which dented his image worldwide.

Several Investigations took place and it looked into the footballer's tax payments that started in the early 1990s and reportedly, resulted in charges of a handsome sum of 37 million euros ($40.38 million). As reported by Reuters, The Rome's Court of Cassation did overturn a 2018 verdict in mid-December.

Reuters further reported that the lawyers of Late great Diego Maradona hailed the Argentinian as an honest man.

"It is over and I can clearly state without fear of being contradicted that Maradona has never been a tax evader. Does justice to fans, to the values of sport, but mostly to the memory of Maradona," said Angelo Pisani, lawyer of Diego Maradona.

"It places a grave stone on a persecution that he suffered for 30 years. The heirs now have a legal right to claim damages. I hope that they use it, in memory of their father," he added.