MADRID — Real Madrid and Serbia forward Luka Jovic has agreed to pay a fine in exchange for a six-month jail sentence after flouting Serbian's COVID-19 restrictions, according to a court statement.
The court said the striker, 22, has been ordered to pay a fine of 3.5 million Serbian dinar, equivalent to around 30,000 euros or $35,000 USD, within a month in order to avoid prison.
Jovic, who has scored only two goals since joining Real in a 60-million-euro move from Eintracht Frankfurt in 2019, returned to Serbia when the pandemic disrupted world sport in March.
The forward's troubles worsened when he broke his foot in May, missing most of Real's run towards the LaLiga title.
He has only started two of Madrid's eight league games this season and has not been named in a line-up since a 1-0 win over Real Valladolid in September.
His last goal came in a 4-1 win at Osasuna in February.
(Reporting by Richard Martin, additional reporting by Zoran Milosavljevic)
