A Zagreb court has rejected charges that Croatia captain and Real Madrid star Luka Modric gave false testimony in a corruption trial, a Croatian newspaper reported on Tuesday.
The decision, which can be appealed, came just a week after Modric was crowned FIFA’s best player of the year, after starring for both his club and Croatia.
Croatian prosecutors charged Modric in March with committing perjury during evidence he gave in the multi-million-euro corruption trial of former Dinamo Zagreb boss Zdravko Mamic.
Modric, 33, testified in June last year over the details of his 2008 transfer from Dinamo to Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur.
He went on to join Real Madrid in 2012.
The offence carries a maximum penalty of up to five years in jail.
But, the Zagreb municipal court decided not to confirm the indictment — a step required by Croatian law for a trial to open — according to an online report in the Vecernji List daily quoting the tribunal.
