Ancelotti Gets One-Year Sentence for Tax Fraud as Lyon Win Appeal to Avoid Relegation

On a dramatic day for European football, former Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti was convicted of tax fraud by a Spanish court, while French giants Olympique Lyonnais secured their Ligue 1 status after winning an appeal against relegation.

Ancelotti, now head coach of the Brazilian national team, was handed a one-year suspended prison sentence on Wednesday for evading over one million euros in taxes during his first spell at Real Madrid in 2014. Prosecutors alleged he used shell companies to hide income from image rights. Although the court found him guilty of deliberately concealing earnings, the 66-year-old will not serve jail time, as Spanish law allows suspended sentences for non-violent first-time offenders whose terms are under two years.

In its ruling, the Madrid court said Ancelotti had shown a “conscious desire to evade” taxes through fraudulent and economically illogical structures, adding that he used “opaque entities in tax havens” to commit the offense. He was also fined €386,361. However, he was cleared of wrongdoing for the 2015 tax year due to lack of proof regarding his tax residency in Spain at that time.

Ancelotti now joins a long list of football icons—Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Jose Mourinho among them—who have faced tax fraud charges in Spain, yet avoided prison.

Meanwhile, in France, seven-time champions Lyon successfully overturned their shock relegation to Ligue 2. The demotion, initially enforced by France’s financial watchdog over budget violations, has been reversed by the French Football Federation’s appeal commission.

Following the decision, Lyon thanked the commission and hailed it as the first step in “re-establishing trust” under the club’s new management. American businesswoman Michele Kang recently took over as president from fellow American John Textor, who has since stepped back from the club’s operations.

The FFF noted that Lyon must still make significant financial adjustments, including cutting their wage bill and transfer spending. Already, players like Alexandre Lacazette and Anthony Lopes have taken pay cuts, while the club has offloaded stars Rayan Cherki and Maxence Caqueret.

Despite their turbulent off-field challenges, Lyon finished sixth last season, qualifying for the Europa League. They will retain their place in that competition but have agreed to pay a fine to UEFA as part of the financial compliance process.