Tax evasion trial for Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti opens in Spain

MADRID (AP) — Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti attended the opening of his trial on tax evasion charges in Spain on Wednesday.

The highly successful Italian manager spent two and-a-half hours inside the Madrid-based courthouse before telling reporters “all is well” upon leaving in a car. Ancelotti was dressed in one of his dark blue suits that he wears while coaching games.

Spanish prosecutors have accused Ancelotti of defrauding the state of 1 million euros ($1 million) in 2014 and 2015. State prosecutors are seeking a prison sentence of up to four years and nine months on two counts of tax fraud.

They accused Ancelotti in March 2024 of having used shell companies to hide his true earnings. Prosecutors claimed Ancelotti, for example, used one company that lacked “any real (economic) activity” in the Virgin Islands as part of an alleged scheme.

Ancelotti had denied any wrongdoing before the trial.

He proclaimed his innocence when first accused last year, arguing he was not a fiscal resident of Spain during part of that time. Prosecutors disagree.

“I already paid the fine, the money is with them, and now the lawyers are talking to try to find a solution,” Ancelotti said in March 2024. “Let’s see what the judge says.”

The 65-year-old Ancelotti is one of soccer’s most successful coaches. He has won the Champions League a record five times, three with Madrid and twice with AC Milan, and is the only coach to have won domestic league titles in England, Spain, Italy, Germany and France.

He coached Madrid from 2013-15 before starting his current stint in 2021.

Ancelotti is the latest in a string of major soccer profiles to face a crackdown by Spanish authorities over unpaid taxes, although none have actually been sent to prison so far.

In Spain a judge can suspend a sentence of less than two years for first-time offenders.

Former Madrid coach Jose Mourinho received a one-year suspended sentence after reaching a guilty plea for tax fraud in 2019. Star players Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo — among others — have also been found guilty of tax fraud in Spain. Similar to Ancelotti, Mourinho, Ronaldo and Messi were also accused of using shell companies outside Spain to hide revenue from image rights.

Many of those accused of fraud reached deals with the tax authorities and accepted guilt to reduce their sentences.

Ronaldo agreed to pay a fine of nearly 19 million euros (then $21.6 million) in 2019, and was handed a two-year suspended sentence that he didn’t have to serve.

Messi and his father were found guilty of defrauding tax authorities of 4.1 million euros (then $4.6 million) but also avoided a jail sentence by paying hefty fines.

Former Madrid player Xabi Alonso was one of the few soccer figures to stand trial and be acquitted of tax evasion charges.

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Real Madrid's head coach Carlo Ancelotti, center, arrives at the National Court in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Real Madrid's head coach Carlo Ancelotti, center, arrives at the National Court in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Real Madrid's head coach Carlo Ancelotti, center, arrives at the National Court in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Real Madrid's head coach Carlo Ancelotti arrives at the National Court in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Real Madrid's head coach Carlo Ancelotti sits before the Spanish Copa del Rey semifinal second leg soccer match between Real Madrid and and Real Sociedad in Madrid, Spain Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip killed at least 19 people, including 10 women and children, overnight and into Sunday, local health officials said, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu headed to the United States to meet with President Donald Trump about the war.

Israel last month ended its ceasefire with Hamas and renewed its air and ground offensive, carrying out waves of strikes and seizing territory to pressure the militant group to accept a new deal for a truce and release of remaining hostages. It has also blocked the import of food, fuel and humanitarian aid for over a month to the coastal territory heavily reliant on outside assistance.

“Stocks are getting low and the situation is becoming desperate,” the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees said on social media.

The latest Israeli strikes hit a tent and a house in the southern city of Khan Younis, killing five men, five women and five children, according to Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies. And Israeli shelling killed at least four people in the Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.

Dozens of Palestinians took to the streets in Jabaliya for a new round of anti-war protests. Footage circulating on social media showed people marching and chanting against Hamas. Such protests, while rare, have occurred in recent weeks.

There is also anger inside Israel over the war's resumption and its effects on remaining hostages in Gaza. Families of hostages along with some of those recently freed from Gaza and their supporters on Saturday urged Trump to help ensure the fighting ends.

Netanyahu on Monday will meet with Trump for the second time since Trump began his latest term in January. The prime minister said they would discuss the war and the new 17% tariff imposed on Israel, part of a sweeping global decision by the new U.S. administration.

“There is a very large queue of leaders who want to do this with respect to their economies. I think it reflects the special personal connection and the special connection between the United States and Israel, which is so vital at this time,” Netanyahu said while wrapping up a visit to Hungary.

The U.S., a mediator in ceasefire efforts along with Egypt and Qatar, expressed support for Israel's resumption of the war last month.

Hundreds of Palestinians since then have been killed, among them 15 medics whose bodies were recovered only a week later. Israel's military this weekend backtracked on its account of what happened in the incident, captured in part on video, that caused anger by Red Cross and Red Crescent and U.N. officials.

The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage. Fifty-nine hostages are still held in Gaza — 24 believed to be alive — after most of the rest were released in ceasefires or other deals.

Israel’s offensive has killed at least 50,695 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many were civilians or combatants but says more than half were women and children. It says another 115,338 people have been wounded. Israel says it has killed around 20,000 militants, without providing evidence.

Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

Palestinians carry the bodies of two of the 15 people killed overnight in two Israeli army strikes during their funeral in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Sunday, April 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

The body of journalist Islam Meqdad, killed along with her son and five other family members in an Israeli army strike on their house, lies on the floor at Nasser Hospital before her burial in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Sunday, April 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Children walk by the destroyed house of journalist Islam Meqdad, where she was killed along with her son and five other family members in an Israeli army strike in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Sunday, April 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

A Oman looks at the destroyed house of journalist Islam Meqdad, where she was killed along with her son and five other family members in an Israeli army strike in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Sunday, April 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Children walk by the destroyed house of journalist Islam Meqdad, where she was killed along with her son and five other family members in an Israeli army strike in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Sunday, April 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Children look at the destroyed house of journalist Islam Meqdad, where she was killed along with her son and five other family members in an Israeli army strike in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Sunday, April 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

A man passes by the destroyed house of journalist Islam Meqdad, where she was killed along with her son and five other family members in an Israeli army strike in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Sunday, April 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

A woman holds a sign as people take part in a protest demanding the immediate release of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, April 5,2025. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Palestinians pray over the bodies of some of the 15 people, including 5 children and 5 women, killed in two Israeli army strikes during their funeral in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on Sunday, April 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)