A Dutch prosecutor asked Tuesday that the head coach of the Russian national soccer team, Guus Hiddink, accused of tax evasion in Holland, be sentenced to 10 months in prison.
Prosecutor Christian Loos said that in 2002-2003, Hiddink failed to pay the Dutch tax service 1.4 million euros in taxes by claiming that his permanent residence was in Achel, Belgium, although he lived at his girlfriend's house in the Netherlands.
Dutch tax inspectors claimed that Hiddink gave the Belgium address in order to avoid paying Dutch taxes.
Prosecutor Loos concurred, also demanding a 14-month prison sentence for Simon van den Boom, Hiddink's accountant and tax advisor, whom he said was behind the scheme.
Hiddink, 60, who signed a two-year contract worth 4 million euros last year with the Russian team, declined to comment on the prosecutor's statement, saying he never gives interviews before soccer matches.
On Wednesday the Russian soccer team meets in a friendly encounter with the Dutch national team.
Lawyers for Hiddink and van den Boom will address the court February 12 and 13, and the court is expected to announce its verdict February 27.
Russia's national team failed to qualify last year for the World Cup in Germany, and Russian fans are hopeful that Hiddink, who previously guided the South Korean and Australian teams to unprecedented successes, will take the team to the Euro-2008 finals in Austria and Switzerland.
THE HAGUE, February 6 (RIA Novosti)
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