By Talha Ozturk

BELGRADE, Serbia

A star Croatian international footballer was acquitted Thursday in local court on charges of perjury.  

The Zagreb Criminal Court in Croatia said that Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric, the FIFA and UEFA 2018 footballer of the year, was acquitted of making false statements in the corruption trial of former Dinamo Zagreb club executives, including former Chairman Zdravko Mamic.  

Prosecutors could appeal Modric’s acquittal.  

The Osijek District Court had found four Dinoma Zagreb officials guilty of making irregular transfers, embezzling €15.5 million ($17.8 million) in the process.  

The club officials got over 18 years in prison at the trial, and Modic was later charged with perjury.  

Mamic, 58, left Croatia before the verdict and settled in Bosnia and Herzegovina.