Hoeness starts prison sentence

Hoeness began his jail sentence at a prison in Landsberg am Lech on Monday, according to reports from multiple German news outlets.

He was convicted by a Munich court of tax evasion on March 13 over income earned in a secret Swiss bank account. A day later he stepped down as president of Bayern Munich and head of the club's supervisory board, saying he would not launch an appeal.

The state prosecutor in Munich would not comment on the media reports of Hoeness entering prison.

"We will not make any public statement on that," said Ken Heidenreich. "It's not something we would make public anyhow and there will not be any press release at any point. Mr. Hoeness himself would be the person who could confirm that."

Football figurehead

Hoeness began his career as a player for Bayern and later the German national team, winning the 1974 World Cup. But he left his biggest impression on the sport as a boardroom figure. Hoeness often called the success he helped to forge over 40 years at Bayern his "life's work."

Bayern's treble-winning 2012-13 season - in which the team captured league, cup and Champions League winners' trophies - pushed the club to third in Deloitte's annual Money League, just behind Spanish heavyweights Real Madrid and Barcelona.

Despite the Hoeness controversy hovering over Bayern all season, coach Pep Guardiola continued the squad's on-field success, racing to a league title in record time and capping off the season with a German Cup final win over rivals Borussia Dortmund.

High-profile trial

Hoeness' tax fraud conviction - one of the most high-profile of its kind in Germany's post-war history - prompted thousands of tax dodgers to turn themselves in to authorities.

The Landsberg prison where Hoeness will serve out his sentence is located around 70 kilometers (45 miles) west of Munich. It houses some 420 inmates, including murderers, drug-dealers and sex offenders. It is also the same prison where Adolf Hitler dictated his book "Mein Kampf" to Rudolf Hess while serving his sentence for the failed 1923 beer hall putsch.

Prison officials gave a tour of the facility to 160 journalists in March, prompting concerns about violations of Hoeness' privacy, including an attempt by his lawyers to have him moved to a more modern facility.

The maximum sentence Hoeness could have received was 10 years, but prosecutors only sought five-and-a-half, citing his cooperation. With good behavior, he could be released well before his three-and-a-half year term is up.

dr/hc (dpa, AFP)