Croatia star Luka Modric has weight of world on his shoulders with perjury case

Modric appears in court to testify in a corruption trial in Osijek on June 13, 2017
AFP/Getty Images
Tom Collomosse13 July 2018

Luka Modric may be only 48 hours away from lifting the World Cup, but he is preparing for the final with the weight of the world on his shoulders.

The Croatia captain will lead out his team against France at the Luzhniki Stadium on Sunday hoping to inspire his country, which gained independence only 26 years ago, to their first world title.

Under normal circumstances, Modric would be revered back home, with his performances making him a national icon regardless of the outcome on Sunday.

Instead, Modric faces a possible five-year prison sentence if he is found guilty of perjury. He was charged in March.

AFP/Getty Images

Prosecutors say the Real Madrid midfielder gave false testimony during the trial of one of the most powerful figures in Croatian football, the former head of Dinamo Zagreb, Zdravko Mamic, in a multi-million-euro corruption case.

Mamic, who was sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison, has refused to extradite himself voluntarily from Bosnia. A BBC report cited Modric’s lawyer as saying the midfielder had done nothing wrong.

Dinamo Zabreg's ex-chairman Zdravko Mamic arrives at a tribunal in 2017.
AFP/Getty Images

That Modric has been able to play so well despite these off-field events suggests he has a remarkably strong mind.

He has carried the team through three periods of extra time in the knockout stages, including penalty shoot-out victories over Denmark and Russia.

Along with Ivan Rakitic and Ivan Perisic, the 32-year-old brought the semi-final against England back into Croatia’s control after they went 1-0 down early on to Kieran Trippier’s stunning free-kick.

EPA

Rakitic revealed he had suffered a fever in the days leading up the semi-final, which might have ruled him out of the game.

Perisic, meanwhile, is struggling with a thigh problem that could prevent him from taking part in the final.

The Inter Milan player scored the equaliser against England but received treatment in a Moscow hospital yesterday and will have round-the-clock care to try to ensure he is ready.

Coach Zlatko Dalic said: “The guys celebrated reaching the final and today we are having a day of recovery.

“I’m not ready yet to talk about the condition of the players.

“Before the match against England we had enough problems but nobody complained. No one, no matter how hard it got, wanted to leave the pitch. I’m proud to coach these players.”

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