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Former Aston Villa striker John Carew has been sentenced to 14 months in prison after pleading guilty to charges of tax evasion in his native Norway.
The 43-year-old admitted failing to report taxable income and assets of around £26.7m between 2014 and 2019.
Carew said he thought he did not need to pay tax there as he lived abroad.
But prosecutors provided evidence showing he was in Norway more than 183 days a year during that time, which made him eligible to pay tax.
In addition to the jail sentence, he was ordered to pay a fine of £46,000.
Carew told the court that he had been following the advice of his former agent.
“The court has concluded that he acted with gross negligence, but not with intent,” his lawyer Berit Reiss-Andersen said in a statement.
“We have argued this all along, and Carew has made it clear that he wanted to set things straight.”
Reiss-Andersen added that Carew will read through the ruling in detail before deciding whether to appeal.
The former striker, who retired in 2012, made nearly 500 appearances for nine clubs during his career, including Valencia, Roma, Lyon, Stoke and West Ham.
He also made 91 international appearances for Norway, scoring 24 goals.
