Svein Oddvar Moen must serve 120 days in prison. This is according to a judgment of the Haugaland and Sunnhordaland District Court which NRK consulted.
– I take note of the judgment and refer to it, Moen told NRK.
– What do you think of the punishment you received?
– There’s not much to say. I always said I would accept any punishment.
Moen has been a referee in the Eliteserien and major European tournaments for several years. Daily life reported the news first.
Continue as a judge
Moen allegedly evaded more than a million crowns in taxes between 2014 and 2020 and pleaded guilty to blatant tax evasion.
The referee oversaw the previous round of the series, but told NRK he had no plans to take any further time away from football.
– I am VAR until the weekend and will not comment further on this matter.
The prosecution does not believe Moen acted deliberately. Tax evasion through gross negligence carries a maximum penalty of six years in prison.
COMMUNICATION MANAGER: Gro Tvedt Anderssen.
Photo: Annika Byrde / NTB
Head referee Terje Hauge turned to Norwegian Football Association communications manager Gro Tvedt Anderssen for a comment on the matter.
“This is a matter between Svein Oddvar Moen and the tax authorities. In international arbitration missions, it is the arbitrator himself who must declare his income. He assumed his responsibility by confessing and made amends. We are keen to take care of Svein Oddvar. He will continue to referee matches and we at the NFF want to contribute to this,” she wrote in an SMS to NRK.
I paid everything back
In addition to the prison sentence, the football referee must pay a fine of NOK 100,000.
– I wanted to make amends and I also paid everything back. I will appear in court and suffer the punishment I deserve, Moen told NRK.
He himself admitted this relationship from the first interview with the police.
– The accused admitted to having acted with gross negligence, which implies that the act was wrong and that he should have known what he had done. He himself admitted that he should have realized what he had done, police lawyer Camilla Levang said on August 31.
