Courbis sent to prison

Courbis currently coaches Ligue 2 side Montpellier and was for convicted receiving illegal payments from transfers while managing L'OM between 1997 and 1999.

His incarceration was confirmed along with a 10-month suspended term for Marseille's billionaire owner Robert Louis-Dreyfus, the only person prosecuted to escape a custodial sentence.

Agent Gilbert Sau was given 18 months in jail, while agents Bernard Almeras and Licio d'Onforio (who is now vice-president of Belgian club Standard Liege) were handed six months apiece.

In June 2006 Courbis was initially punished with a three and a half year jail term, a 375,000 euro fine and a five-year ban from football.

This, along with sentences for the other four miscreants, was reduced on appeal in October 2007 and the five were pushing for suspended sentences to be applied in all cases.