Lionel Messi has lost his Supreme Court appeal over a tax-fraud conviction in Spain. The court confirmed the 21-month prison sentence handed to Messi for defrauding tax authorities of 4.1 million euros ($4.6 million) from 2007-09. He is not expected to go to prison because sentences of less than two years for first offences are usually suspended in Spain. The court maintained the 2 million euro ($2.24 million) fine handed to the Argentina player in last year's trial. Messi's father, Jorge Horacio Messi, also had been convicted of tax fraud, but the court reduced his sentence from 21 months to 15 months because he cooperated by returning the defrauded money to the tax authorities. He also is not expected to face prison time. Arsenal faces defensive crisis ahead of final Arsenal faces a defensive crisis ahead of Saturday's FA Cup final against Chelsea with Gabriel ruled out with a knee injury and Laurent Koscielny suspended after being red-carded against Everton last weekend. With Shkodran Mustafi also an injury doubt, manager Arsene Wenger is running out of central defensive options. The only good news was that Brazil defender Gabriel's injury is not as bad as first feared when he was taken off on a stretcher in Sunday's league finale. "Gabriel is out for six to eight weeks," Wenger told a news conference Wednesday. "We had a scare about his cruciate but it's medial. He avoids surgery. "Shkodran Mustafi, we have some worries, because he is still sick at the moment. He has not trained yet," said Wenger. "It's unbelievable and unpredictable and we are hit hard in a position where we need to be strong Saturday. We have to find solutions and hopefully I can find those solutions." Per Mertesacker came on for Gabriel for his first action of the season against Everton and look set for a place in Saturday's final squad. Real Madrid turns its focus to Champions league final Real Madrid is done celebrating its Spanish league title and has turned its focus to the Champions League final. Madrid players are returning to practice Wednesday, three days after the club won its first league title in five years with a final-round victory at Malaga. On June 3, it will try to win its third Champions League title in four seasons in the final against Juventus in Cardiff. has been the option to replace Carvajal at right back. — Agencies It was a busy couple of days for the team after the triumph in La Liga. The squad returned from Malaga Sunday and spent the night celebrating with its fans. It was past 3 a.m. local time when players left a major plaza where they were greeted by nearly 50,000 supporters. The next day they met with local authorities and again were hailed by thousands of fans waiting for them at another plaza in the Spanish capital. "Hopefully we can come back in a couple of weeks with the Champions League trophy," captain Sergio Ramos told the crowd. Now it's back to work as Madrid heads to Cardiff trying to win its first double — the Champions League and Spanish league — in nearly 60 years. It can also become the first team to win back-to-back Champions League titles since the competition's new format was created in 1992-93. "This is why we are here, to win titles," midfielder James Rodriguez said. "Hopefully on June 3 we can add the Champions League trophy to our achievements." It would be an amazing feat for coach Zinedine Zidane, who is on the job — his first as a head coach — for only 17 months. The former France great already led the club to titles in La Liga, the Champions League, the European Super Cup and the Club World Cup. It remains uncertain if the coach will have all of his players in top form in Cardiff, as Gareth Bale and Dani Carvajal are coming off muscle injuries that kept them from playing in the final stages of the Spanish league. They are both expected to fully recover from their injuries, but there will still be doubts about their overall fitness going into the game in Cardiff. Francisco "Isco" Alarcon has been successfully replacing Bale, and he might get the starting spot regardless of the physical condition of the Wales forward. Danilo has been the option to replace Carvajal at right back. — Agencies
