Brandao appeals jail term

Paris - Brazilian footballer Brandao has changed his legal representative and appealed his one month prison sentence for head-butting an opponent, his new lawyer Yassine Maharsi confirmed on Tuesday.

Brandao's previous lawyer Olivier Martin claimed on Monday that the Bastia striker had not appealed his prison sentence and $24,600 fine for the attack on Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Thiago Motta within the allotted 10-day time frame.

But on Tuesday, Maharsi said Brandao had indeed appealed and had also changed his legal representative. When asked by AFP, the court registry confirmed that an appeal had been submitted.

In any case, he is unlikely to serve any time behind bars as French law allows for his sentence to be commuted to community service or an increased fine, something the trial judge in Paris, Yves Madre, had emphasised at the time of sentencing.

Maharsi said that while Brandao always intended to appeal, he did not wish to publish the fact and had communicated that wish to both lawyers, although he changed his mind at the last moment.

"He always intended to appeal, since November 27," Maharsi told AFP.

"He wants to explain his side of the story."

Brandao head-butted Motta, who was left with broken nose, in the tunnel at the Parc des Princes following a league match between PSG and Bastia in the capital on August 16.

The 34-year-old was subsequently sentenced on November 27 while he also received a six-month ban from the French football league, meaning he cannot play again until February 22.

He had pleaded guilty to the attack but denied it was premeditated.

Neither Motta nor PSG filed a complaint against Brandao but police used video footage from the tunnel to build a case against him.