PARIS (AP) — A lawyer for Samir Nasri argues the former Manchester City midfielder is being unfairly singled out for allegedly owing back taxes in France, where authorities are citing Deliveroo meals to a Paris address as evidence that he was fiscally based in the country and not in Dubai.
French authorities estimate that the 38-year-old Nasri might owe more than 5.5 million euros ($6.3 million) in wealth and income taxes for a period from 2018-2025, according to court documents.
In March, a Paris court agreed to the temporary seizure of some of Nasri's assets to cover any eventual payment of tax arrears.
His lawyer, Jean-Noël Sanchez, said he's appealing the seizure ruling and that it might be years before the broader question is decided of whether Nasri owes back taxes, as authorities claim. The lawyer also contested the figure of 5.5 million euros of alleged potential tax debt, calling it “imaginary.”
Sanchez, speaking Tuesday in a phone interview with The Associated Press, said Nasri “is a perfect French citizen” who files his tax returns and pays taxes for his revenues earned in France.
“The problem is that France has decided for Mr. Nasri — and others, for that matter — to attack all those who live in the United Arab Emirates,” Sanchez said.
The retired player, he added, is based there with his partner and their son, who attends school there.
“He doesn't live in France,” Sanchez said. “I am an angry lawyer because the principle of presumption of innocence is being attacked.”
The March court ruling on the temporary seizure of some of Nasri's bank accounts and for a provisional mortgaging of one of his Paris properties cited Deliveroo orders and airline reservations among arguments that Nasri should be considered resident in France for tax purposes.
Nasri, a former France international who also played for Marseille and Arsenal, was alleged in the documents to have spent a total of 487 days in France in the years 2021-2023, compared to a total of 226 days in the UAE.
Nasri also was alleged to have used Deliveroo 212 times in 2022 to have meals sent to one of his Paris addresses, the documents show.
Sanchez said it hasn't been demonstrated that Nasri himself placed the orders.
“Did his mother place orders, his sister, his brother, his friends?” the lawyer asked.
“The administration might today believe that it's on solid ground in saying that he lives in France but it will have to prove that. And that is not going to be proven by the 212 Deliveroos.”
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FILE - France's Samir Nasri, controls the ball during their group I World Cup qualifying soccer match between France and Finland at the Stade de France stadium in Saint Denis outside of Paris, Oct. 15, 2013. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, File)
NEW YORK (AP) — The animal rights group PETA's lawsuit over the health of French bulldogs and some other popular dog breeds has been dismissed, with a judge saying a New York law was misapplied to the case.
The suit, filed last year, marked a new front in the PETA's long-running campaign against dog breeders. The case accused the American Kennel Club of promulgating unhealthy “standards,” or ideals, for Frenchies — the nation's most prevalent dog breed, by the club's count — as well as bulldogs, Chinese shar-peis, dachshunds and pugs. The AKC, the nation's oldest purebred dog registry, rejected the claims and said it prioritizes canine health.
Club President Gina DiNardo hailed the decision Tuesday.
“We remain focused on what matters most, the preservation of purebred dogs, advocating for all dogs and the people who care for them, and supporting the right of individuals and families to choose the dog that is right for their household,” she said in a statement.
PETA, also called People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, said its lawyers were assessing any legal options.
“Money-grubbing dog merchants flood the market with deformed dogs bred at the AKC’s direction,” founder Ingrid Newkirk said in a statement. She urged people to adopt dogs from shelters instead of buying purebred pups: “No dog should be custom-made for a look that causes pain.”
The suit invoked a New York law that is generally used to challenge state and local government decisions, though it's occasionally applied to private organizations. But those have been organizations with some authority over the people suing them, such as union members bringing complaints about their leadership or co-op apartment residents suing their building's board, state Judge David B. Cohen said in a decision filed Monday.
Since PETA isn't subject to the kennel club's authority, the case “must be dismissed,” he wrote, without opining on the dog health issues at the heart of the case.
It focused on canine ailments that can be associated with flat faces — such as those of bulldogs, pugs and Frenchies — or with the short legs and long backs that dachshunds have. Shar-peis, meanwhile, may suffer spates of fever and inflammation known as “shar-pei autoinflammatory disease.”
The problems aren't universal but can be serious.
PETA had wanted the judge to order the AKC to stop using the “standards” for those breeds. The standards guide dog show judges and many breeders.
The AKC has said the standards — which fanciers develop and the kennel club reviews and circulates — reflect “decades of collaboration with veterinary experts and breeders.” The kennel club says it has given over $40 million since 1995 to its canine health research charity.
FILE - French bulldogs compete in breed group judging during the 148th Westminster Kennel Club Dog show, May 13, 2024, at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson, File)
FILE - A Shar-Pei puppy naps in the back of a minivan in a parking lot in Kalispell, Mont., April 21, 2004. (Robin Loznak/Daily Inter Lake via AP, File)
FILE - The pug group is judged outside at the 145th Annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, June 12, 2021, in Tarrytown, N.Y. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)
