Tension as Top European Manager Sent to Prison Days Before Europa League Clash with Tottenham Hotspur

- Zoran Mamic will not be in charge of Dinamo Zagreb when they host Tottenham in the Europa League this week

- The Croatian-born manager was sent to four years and a few months in prison along with his brother

- Zagreb already trail Spurs by two un-replied goals from the first leg and will be hoping for a turnaround this week

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Dinamo Zagreb manager Zoran Mamic has been sentenced to four years and eight months in prison days before his side's Europa League clash with Tottenham Hotspur.

The 49-year-old Croat and his brother Zdravko were said to have been accused of corruption charges in 2018 according to the country's supreme court earlier this week

He has now stepped down from his position as the coach of The Citizens - a decision which has thrown the club's preparations for the second leg of their continental assignment against Spurs into disarray.

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While tendering his resignation, Mamic insisted that he was not guilty of the crime he was accused of but added that he wanted to properly leave before going to prison. He said in a statement on the club's official website.

"Although I don't feel guilty, I resign as I said before I would do if the sentence was confirmed. I wish all the good luck to the club."

In a swift response, the club accepted the manager's resignation and quickly named Damir Krznar as his successor.

Krznar has a monumental task on his hands, as Dinamo face Spurs in the second leg of their Europa League last-16 tie on Thursday, trailing 2-0 from the first leg in London last week.

Legit.ng earlier reported that two superb goals from captain fantastic Harry Kane were all Tottenham Hotspur needed to beat Dinamo Zagreb in their Europa League last-16 first-leg meeting at the White Hart Lane.

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The England international needed just 25 minutes to break the deadlock after tapping into the net from close-range. He benefited from Erik Lamela's effort which was denied by the sticks moment earlier.

Kane completed his double in the game in the 70th minute after taking advantage of Kevin Theophile-Catherine's poor clearance.

Oluwatomiwa is a sports editor with Legit.ng. He has over eight years of field and office experience in the media industry. He graduated from the Nigerian Institute of Journalism in 2014 with HND in Mass Communication. Connect with him on Twitter @TomiwaBabalola.