Tax scandal rocks Bayern Munich ahead of Barca clash

AT A time when Bayern Munich should be thinking about whether Lionel Messi is fit enough to play, the new German champions have been rocked by a huge distraction before their Champions League semi-final against Barcelona.

Bayern Munich club president Uli Hoeness is under investigation for suspected tax evasion. Picture: Reuters

Reports over the weekend that the club’s president, Uli Hoeness, is under investigation for suspected tax evasion have dominated German headlines, nearly overshadowing the highly anticipated match.

The news magazine Focus – whose publisher is a member of Bayern’s board and who attends nearly every match – reported over the weekend that Hoeness is under investigation.

Hoeness, who owns a sausage factory, told the magazine he had reported himself to tax authorities about a private bank account in Switzerland, a move that could mitigate his situation. Few details have come out, but Hoeness’s reputation seems to have been tarnished immediately.

The club has sought to play down the reports and officials insist the case has no impact on the team’s run-up to tonight’s match. Club spokesman Markus Hoerwick said before yesterday’s pre-match media conference that no questions about Hoeness’s situation would be accepted.

“That’s, above all, a private matter of the president – my team does not get affected by anything,” Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes said after his side won 6-1 in Hannover on Saturday.

Heynckes is supervising an extraordinary season before he hands over to Pep Guardiola – the former Barcelona coach.

Bayern had previously been free of any disturbances this season and have a lot to show for it.

They became the earliest champions in Bundesliga history, already have the most victories in a season (26), have lost only once in the league, and have also reached the German Cup final.

Barcelona arrived in Munich yesterday with Messi in the squad, but still not cleared by doctors to play.

“Clearly, Barcelona is stronger when Messi plays,” Bayern captain Philipp Lahm said. “But we have players who can hurt Barcelona.”

Messi injured his right hamstring on 2 April. He has since missed three Spanish league games, while coming on as a substitute to help rally Barcelona past Paris Saint-Germain in the quarter-finals two weeks ago.

Messi changed the flow of that match, proving once again how much he matters to Barcelona’s game. The four-time Fifa player of the year is likely to make the difference over the two legs – if he is fit enough to play.

Heynckes has described Messi as a “phenomenon” and “extraterrestrial”.

“But Barcelona are more than Messi, they have so many great players,” Heynckes said. “Barcelona have dominated European football in the past few years but I have concept how to play and I am confident we can succeed.”

Without Messi, Barcelona look vulnerable. They laboured to a 1-0 win over Levante in the Spanish league on Saturday. Bayern won 6-1 in Hannover using a reshuffled line-up, their 13th consecutive victory in the Bundesliga.

Bayern will be without striker Mario Mandzukic, but his backup, Mario Gomez, has scored five goals this week – two in Hannover and three in the 6-1 win over Wolfsburg in their German Cup semi-final.

Heynckes has not ruled out using veteran Claudio Pizarro – either with or instead of Gomez.

“I have the fortune that I have two more great strikers. Gomez has been the best German-born striker for the past few years and Claudio is the best foreign striker of the Bundesliga,” Heynckes said.

Pizarro can play as an attacking midfielder as well.

Long-term injuries have ruled out Toni Kroos and Holger Badstuber but Bayern have been impressive no matter who plays.

Barcelona coach Tito Vilanova has to patch up his defence with both Carles Puyol and Javier Mascherano out injured. His options include shifting Adriano to the centre of defence, using young defender Marc Bartra, or turning to veteran Eric Abidal after he played well through 90-plus minutes of Saturday’s game in his first start since undergoing a liver transplant last year.

Bayern and Barcelona are both seeking their fifth Champions League title. Bayern are in their third semi-final in four seasons, Barcelona are in the last four for a record sixth consecutive appearance.

While Bayern have lost their two most recent finals, including a heartbreaking defeat at home last season to Chelsea on penalties, Barcelona won the trophy both in 2009 and 2011 under Guardiola.

“(Bayern) is a very strong rival. It is having an extraordinary season. But we are a competitive team and we’ll see what happens,” Barcelona assistant coach Jordi Roura said.