Uli Hoeness to stand trial on tax evasion

Bayern Munich President Uli Hoeness will stand trial for tax evasion in March, a German court has confirmed.

The charges of the prosecutor’s office were admitted for trial which is set to start on March 10.

Hoeness said earlier this year that he had voluntarily alerted tax authorities in January to a Swiss bank account he held.

He said it was a personal account, created for his stock market trading. He admitted to gambling bigger and bigger amounts and taking a major hit as the dotcom bubble burst.

Bayern said in a statement the board’s position was that Hoeness should remain as chairman despite the trial hanging over his head.

“The board is of the unanimous opinion that Uli Hoeness shall remain in his position even with a trial being set,” the treble winners said.

Hoeness spent 30 years since as the team’s general manager before being elected president.

In an April 2013 interview he spoke out against clubs, notably those in Spain, living beyond their means.

“The Malaga punishment was a good beginning,” he told World Soccer. “This gentleman [Al-Thani] did not pay his bills. He lived beyond his means. But I hope this was only a start. If they kill the small clubs and let the big ones live then that is not okay.

“I hope that one day one of the biggest is killed. The sooner the better. I would be very angry if UEFA did not sanction clubs with big debts. I have asked Platini a hundred times and he says, ‘Uli, don’t worry. I will look after it’, so I will take him at his word.”

Oh, the irony. If only the Germans had a word to describe the enjoyment one could derive from the misfortune of others.