Morgan Andersen was convicted of fraud and making false accusations by an Oslo court

Morgan Andersen was convicted of fraud and making false accusations by an Oslo court Wednesday in a case that stemmed from a contract dispute over Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel. Andersen appealed on the spot.The Oslo district court sentenced Andersen to one year in prison, but suspended the sentence if he successfully complete a two-year probation period. It also ordered him to pay 20,000 kroner (US$3,875, €2,500) in court costs.Andersen was convicted of two counts of tampering with a 2005 contract between the Oslo soccer club he then managed and Mikel so he could use the document in a lucrative sale of the now 20-year-old Nigeria star to Manchester United. He was also convicted with filing a false police complaint against Mikel's agent, John Shittu.Mikel ended up with Chelsea after the three clubs reached a settlement in the contract dispute"The court is convinced that the accused has knowingly contributed to an illegal act for gain an unjustified right to John Obi Mikel, " the ruling said.On Feb. 11, when the 10-day trial, opened, Andersen pleaded not guilty to all the charges. The prosecutors had demanded that Andersen be sentenced to one-year in prison, and serve half the time in jail.
Andersen's attorney, Cato Schiotz, said his client completely disagreed with the sentence, and would appeal."We believe the court did not consider all the questions," said Schiotz. During Among other things, the defense argued during the trial that one of Andersen's subordinate's at Lyn had falsified the contract without his knowledge.The three-member judges panel was split on the sentence, with one judge wanting Andersen to serve six months in jail. However, the other two supported a suspended sentence and probation.Andersen was convicted of tampering with existing contracts to make it appear that Mikel had signed them on his 18th birthday, April 22, 2005, as the first day the soccer player could enter a contract on his own as an adult. Such a contract would have given Lyn rights to Mikel that could have led to a lucrative deal with Manchester United.In 2005, Mikel filed a police complaint against Andersen claiming he had forged Mikel's signature on the contract. Andersen then filed a counter-complaint against Shittu, saying he had forged Mikel's signature on a different contract.
Both complaints were later retracted, but police continued their investigation independently.Andersen became manager of Fredrikstad in 2006, but has been on sick leave from that job since October. His defense attorney, Schiotz, said his client would now step down from that job