A Ukrainian lawyer will report Girona to Uefa.
This is for alleged tax fraud in connection with the signing of Artem Dovbyk from Dnipro.
Trouble could be waiting around the corner for Girona.
The successful team is third in La Liga and looks set to qualify for Champions League play next season. But now the eyes have turned to the Spaniards for another reason.
AS reports that Ukrainian lawyer Evgeniy Kuzmin is accusing Girona of several irregularities when the club signed Artem Dovbyk from Ukrainian side Dnipro last summer. It’s all about an alleged tax fraud that both clubs are said to have been involved in orchestrating.
According to the lawyer, the player’s agent, Oleksiy Lundovsky, established a company in Estonia which subsequently received all payments for the transfer. This is to avoid paying taxes in Ukraine, where Dnipro is housed and the agent is actually domiciled.
Kuzmin states that it is partly against Ukrainian legislation and partly against UEFA’s regulations.
– All payments should only go to Ukrainian bank accounts. If we talk about sports law, the player is registered as a client of a Ukrainian company owned by Lyndovsky. And only that organization has the right to accept payments for Artem Dovbyk, says Kuzmin.
The lawyer further says that he will take the matter further to Uefa in the hope that the association will get to the bottom of the alleged violations. He also warns of possible consequences that could await Girona, Dnipro and the agent if Uefa finds them guilty of the charges.
For example, he does not rule out exclusion and relegation in European and domestic competitions.
– Uefa may impose sanctions against Girona, Dnipro and the agent Ludovsky. At club level, it can mean heavy fines and exclusion from participation in national championships and European tournaments. As for the agent, he risks being deprived of his license to practice, says lawyer Kuzmin.
Dovbyk has been a brilliant new acquisition for Girona. According to the site transfermarkt.com, the transfer fee landed at 7.75 million euros, corresponding to approximately 90 million Swedish kronor).
The Ukrainian striker, for example, is noted for 19 complete hits in 31 matches in La Liga.