• croatiantimes.com
• romaniantimes.at
• salzburgtimes.at
• viennatimes.at
• austrianindependent.com

Today

• Vienna - Unknown Underground
• Vienna - Cats
• Vienna - Andy Warhol
• Vienna - Laser Tag
• Vienna - Circus Art

© Linz09

01. 07. 11. - 15:00

• more Sports news
• RSS Feed Sports

01. 07. 11. - 15:00

Vastic fined for court no-show

A footballer widely regarded as one of the best players who ever stepped on a pitch in Austria has been fined for staying away from a trial.

Ivica Vastic was ordered to go into the witness box in a hearing dealing with alleged malpractices at his former club, Sturm Graz, yesterday (Thurs). However, the ex-Sturm and LASK Linz star failed to turn up.

Judges in Graz issued a 1,000-Euro fine after ruling out that the 41-year-old had been unaware of the order to appear in court. They pointed out he was informed in writing and that he signed upon receiving the notification. Vastic, who resides in Vienna, is due to make his statement on Tuesday (5 July) when the trial against former Sturm Graz President Hannes Kartnig continues.

Vastic won the Bundesliga with Sturm in 1998 and 1999. He captained the team when they played in the UEFA Champions League in 1999, 2000 and 2001. The Croatian-born midfielder played for Nagoya Grampus Eight in Japan among other clubs before retiring in 2009 from LASK. He currently coaches the amateur team of Austria Vienna, one of his former clubs.

Vastic played for Austria in the 1998 World Cup in France. He also competed for the national squad at the European Football Championship three years ago. Vastic scored the only goal of Austria’s team in the tournament. The strike from the penalty spot against Poland made him the oldest player ever to find the net in the competition’s history at the age of 38 years.

His son Toni signed with German giants Bayern Munich only a few days ago. The 18-year-old previously played for English side Blackburn Rovers.

Several former Sturm teammates of Ivica Vastic – who accepted the Austrian citizenship in 1996 – including Franco Foda, Tomislav Kocijan and Roman Mählich have appeared in court in Graz as witnesses in the case against Kartnig since March.

The infamously outspoken former club boss is accused of tax evasion and fraud. Kartnig admitted some wrongdoings as far as the tax evasion charges are concerned, arguing that everyone in the business has tried to get the better of fiscal authorities. However, the marketing agency chief pleaded not guilty to fraud. Seven other, less prominent former Sturm Graz decision-makers are also in court as defendants.

Sturm went bankrupt in 2006 but was kept alive by subsidies from provincial funds. The club are up against Hungarian league champions Videoton FC in the UEFA Champions League qualification after having triumphed in the Austrian Bundesliga in the 2010/2011 season.

Kartnig was in custody from May to July 2007 after being released on bail when a security deposit of around 1.2 million Euros was paid.

The penalty for Vastic is not the only extraordinary incident at the trial currently taking place in Graz, the provincial capital of Styria. Only a few weeks ago, a key witness refused to appear in court, explaining he was unwilling to postpone a pilgrimage he had organised in every detail a long time in advance.

The retired public servant told judges he would hike from his home in Vienna to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. The man was informed he had to appear in the witness stand after returning from the 3,200-kilometre trip when he stressed having no intentions to make any changes to his route. Juridical officials tried to persuade him to stopover in Graz before continuing his hike. However, the man made clear such a change to his plans was out of the question.

Austrian Times

Related articles: star news

1. Man Utd chase Austrian ace

   » Sports 2012-05-23

   Manchester United have signalised interest in David Alaba.

2. Best of the bookshelf in May

   » Panorama 2012-05-22

   The Austrian Times has once again searched the book publishing market of German-speaking Europe to list some of the most interesting releases of the past weeks and months.

3. Supancic sets sails

   » Panorama 2012-05-18

   Mike Supancic is touring Austria.

more related articles tagged "star news"

Related articles: quirky Austria

1. Anti-truancy official for Vienna

   » General News 2012-03-23

   Horst Tschaikner has been named head of Vienna’s new anti-truancy office.

2. Dog days for clumsy Arnautovic

   » Sports 2012-03-09

   Werder Bremen star Marko Arnautovic will be sidelined for more than a month after injuring his knee while playing with his dog.

3. Unanimous praise for State Opera Ball

   » Panorama 2012-02-17

   Political leaders and showbiz stars had only kind words about last night’s (Thurs) Opera Ball.

more related articles tagged "quirky Austria"

Related articles: football

1. Foda farewell prolongs FK Austria coach quest

   » Sports 2012-05-24

   German second-league team 1. FC Kaiserslautern have presented Franco Foda as their new coach.

2. Man Utd chase Austrian ace

   » Sports 2012-05-23

   Manchester United have signalised interest in David Alaba.

3. Bulls snatch ÖFB Cup

   » Sports 2012-05-22

   Red Bull Salzburg (RBS) have won the ÖFB Cup.

more related articles tagged "football"

Related articles: business scandals

1. Coalition accelerates anti-corruption ambitions

   » General News 2012-05-24

   The government is intensifying its attempts to pass a transparency package in parliament.

2. Pecik defends TA engagement

   » Business 2012-05-24

   Telekom Austria (TA) investor Ronny Pecik has declared himself a team player.

3. Petrol traders plan legal action

   » Business 2012-05-17

   The domestic mineral oil industry plans to sue the government about plans to set up a tool regulating fuel prices.

more related articles tagged "business scandals"

Turks flattened by lone asylum seeker
A furious Nigerian went on the rampage at a refuge for asylum seekers in Leibnitz, attacking several people and damaging property.

Woman bites toddler
A woman who bit a two-year-old tot during a road rage row with her mother is being quizzed by police in Wiener Neustadt, Austria.

New Dany Boon comedy to be filmed in Austria
The French film star Dany Boon, one of the highest paid actors in Europe after his hit film "Welcome to the Sticks", is filming in Salzburg.

China meets Hallstatt
After a long time of speculation and anticipation the exact copy of Austrian world heritage village of Hallstatt-Dachstein in China will be unveiled, and there will be real-life Austrians present for the ceremony.

Skier in court after accident
A man from Graz is in court today accused of having inflicted negligent injury upon a five-year-old when skiing in Carinthia last year.

Two fires in Ottakring claim one life
Two fires started on Thursday evening in the Vienna district of Ottakring, one of which claimed a man’s life. Several people were evacuated as a result of the two blazes.

Cows zapped to death by lightning
Four cows were zapped to death after a lightning strike hit the barbed wire fence they were leaning on in Reith im Alpbachtal, Austria.

Wolf babies born in Schönbrunn
These cuddly Artic wolf cubs have got every right to look a bit frosty - after they emerged into the world for the first time in the middle of a 27 degree heatwave.

Cleaned Out
A Hungarian cleaning woman who stole tens of thousands of pounds worth of antique jewellery from an Austrian Countess and then sold it for "pocket money" unaware of its real value has been jailed by a court in Austria.

Great expectations for summer tourism season in Vorarlberg
The Vorarlberg tourism industry is currently riding high after a record breaking winter season, and the summer season is expected to follow that same trend.

Jobs in Austria