Marseille coach Baup charged with fraud
Reuters - Tuesday 31 July 2012, 15:11
Olympique Marseille's new
coach Elie Baup denied any intentional wrongdoing on Tuesday
after he was charged with fraud over jobless benefits by a
French judge.
The 57-year-old, who took over as the Ligue 1 side's coach
earlier this month as Didier Deschamps quit and joined France,
is accused of having received benefits while he was working for
French television channel Canal+ after he was sacked by Nantes
in 2009.
A judge from Toulouse, where Baup was living before moving
to Marseille, laid the charges in June but the news was only
made public on Tuesday.
Baup, who led Girondins Bordeaux to the French league title
in 1999, said he would happily return the money.
"I had no intention to fraud," he told a news conference at
Marseille's training facility La Commanderie.
"This is the reality. I trusted some law experts and
advisors who led me into this... I am willing to pay some
damages, even to give the whole money back. I'll do whatever it
takes."
Olympique Marseille, who reached the Champions League
quarter finals last season but had a poor Ligue 1 campaign,
travel to Turkish side Eskisehirspor for their Europa League
preliminary third round first leg on Thursday.