HAMBURG’s Ghanaian striker Tony Yeboah has claimed he has been cleared by judicial authorities of an alleged tax evasion scam during his spell with German Bundesliga outfit Eintracht Frankfurt. German newspaper reports at the weekend claimed that Yeboah, Frankfurt’s former vice-President Bernd Holzenbein and another official at the club were under investigation for involvement in an illegal tax minimisation scheme, which cost the state more than 1 million Marks ($543000). “Ive paid off my tax debts, Ive got it in writing that the case against me is closed,” Yeboah was quoted saying in the “Bild am Sonntag” newspaper. Job Tilman, however, a spokesman for Frankfurts public prosecutor, says that is not the case. “There is evidence of a punishable offence, regardless of whether Yeboah has paid off the money or not.” Yeboah played for Eintracht Frankfurt between 1990 and 1994 when he was one of Europes premier strikers. He was forced to leave Frankfurt in 1994 when he failed to see eye to eye with new trainer Jupp Heynckes, a stickler for discipline and hard work. His move to Leeds United in Englands Premier League was an ill-chosen one though and brought more conflict before he eventually returned to German football with Hamburg. –AFP
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