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France: Former Marseille chairman to stand trial for embezzlement [Wed Sep 21st, 2005]
Marseille (AFP) - Former Marseille chairman Robert Louis-Dreyfus has been ordered to stand trial for embezzling money at the French Ligue 1 club, Marseille prosecutors revealed.
Louis-Dreyfus, the club's major shareholder, is accused of corrupt transfer dealings between 1997 and 1999, which meant 15 million euros were acquired illegally.
He was one of 14 people committed for trial including Rolland Courbis, a former manager of the club, and a former French international, Jean-Francois Larios, who is now a footballers' agent.
Among those transfers implicated in the alleged embezzlement are Christophe Dugarry, a World Cup and Euro 2000 winner with France, and former Italian international striker Fabrizio Ravanelli.
Louis-Dreyfus' lawyer Jean Veil staunchly defended his client. "We feel that Mr Louis-Dreyfus has been taken hostage in this legal procedure," Veil said.
"It goes against common sense that a man who has invested about 150 million euros to build up a football club should be considered to have misused the club's funds."
The trial is expected to take place in early 2006.
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