Mascherano accepts 1-yr sentence

Barcelona defender Javier Mascherano accepted a one-year prison sentence for tax evasion on Thursday as part of a plea bargain, Spanish media reported. However, sentences shorter than two years are not usually enforced in Spain. 

Mascherano, 31, pleaded guilty last year to defrauding the Spanish tax authorities of more than 1.5 million euros by concealing earnings from his image rights by using companies set up in the United States and Portugal.

During a brief appearance in court yesterday, he agreed to pay an 800,000 euro fine and cover the legal costs.

Mascherano's Barcelona and Argentina team mate Lionel Messi, FIFA's world footballer of the year, is due to appear in court with his father at the end of May to answer charges of tax fraud.