Diego Costa Fined But Avoids Jail In Tax Fraud Case

Atletico Madrid forward Diego Costa has been fined 543,208 euros (around $610,000) and given a six-month prison sentence after pleading guilty to tax fraud.

The striker, however, will not have to go to prison because under Spanish law, non-violent first time offenders who are sentenced to less than two years in jail are able to avoid time behind bars by paying a further financial penalty, reports Xinhua news agency.

Costa on Thursday accepted charges of avoiding a tax payment of over a million euros, linked to his transfer to Chelsea in 2014 and also to tax related to image rights.