PARIS, July 8: Former Paraguayan international goalkeeper Jose Luis Chilavert has been given a six-month suspended prison sentence by a court on Friday relating to a false document he produced to back up a demand for compensation from his former club Strasbourg.

The French club took legal action against the 39-year-old after he accused them of not paying an extra 2.4 million euros of a 4.4-million-euro fee he said he had been promised on top of his monthly salary.

Chilavert, who was also ordered to pay 10,000 euros (12,000 dollars) in damages to Strasbourg and a symbolic 1 euro to the club’s president Patrick Proisy, was however cleared of forgery.

The controversial goalie was recruited by Strasbourg in 2000, but was sacked by the club after a stromy two seasons in September 2002 for refusing to play a French league match against Lille.

He accused Proisy of racism, claiming the club boss had called him ‘Michelin Man’ because of his weight and spoken of ‘Banana Republic practices’ referring to his South American origins.—AFP