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Harry Redknapp faces day in court

The charges date back to Harry Redknapp's time in charge of Portsmouth © Getty Images

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Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp and former Portsmouth chairman Milan Mandaric will appear in a London court on Thursday charged with tax evasion stemming from when Redknapp was in charge at the south coast Premier League club.

Redknapp, 62, and Mandaric, 71, are jointly accused of two counts of cheating the public revenue. The charges concern two payments, totalling £183,000, from Mandaric to Redknapp via a bank account in Monaco, allegedly evading the tax and National Insurance contributions due between April 1 2002 and November 28 2007.

Former Portsmouth manager Redknapp and Mandaric, now chairman of Leicester City Football Club, were charged on separate dates in January. Both men denied any wrong-doing. The Crown Prosecution Service said the charges followed an investigation by the City of London Police and HM Revenue and Customs.

The pair are due to appear at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court in London. It will be the first time they have faced a court in relation to the charges.

On Wednesday, Portsmouth were given a stay of execution as bosses were granted extra time to fight a winding-up petition. The relegation-threatened Premier League side faced High Court proceedings over a multi-million pound unpaid tax bill after talks with Revenue and Customs officers failed.

It now has one week to draw up a statement of its financial affairs. Chief executive Peter Storrie said Pompey is hopeful of finding a new owner - which would be its fifth this season - and the bill could then be paid.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.