Diego Costa: Atletico Madrid forward to face trial for alleged tax fraud

Spain international handed court date of June 4; La Liga set to resume on June 11

Diego Costa is set to face trial for alleged tax fraud on June 4, a week before Atletico Madrid resume their La Liga campaign.

According to a court filing, the forward is accused of defrauding the state of more than 1 million euros (£900,000) by not declaring payments of more than 5.15m euros (£4.63m) following his move from Chelsea in 2014.

The Spain international is also accused of failing to declare image rights of more than 1m euros.

Prosecutors in Madrid are set to ask for a six-month prison sentence and a fine of more than 500,000 euros (£450,000).

In Spain, sentences below two years for non-violent crimes can be exchanged for a fine, so if found guilty, Costa would avoid prison if he paid an additional fine of 36,500 euros (£32,896).

The court date will take place a week before the resumption of the La Liga season on June 11, following the league's suspension due to the coronavirus pandemic.