Former Bayern Munich football chief Uli Hoeness has been granted day release, seven months after he was sentenced to three-and-a-half years for tax evasion.
He is allowed to leave prison during the day but must return in the evening, Bavaria’s justice ministry said.
The 62-year-old was found guilty in March of defrauding German tax authorities of millions of euros.
The former World Cup-winning Germany striker had kept the funds in a secret Swiss bank account.
Under the terms of the day release, which is a common arrangement in Germany, Hoeness is allowed to take up employment but must return by 18:00 every day.
He is expected to take up a new post in Bayern Munich’s youth department this month, German media report.
He had previously been released to spend Christmas and then New Year with his family.
‘Wrongdoing’
Hoeness was convicted last March of evading up to 28.5m euros ($34m; £22m) in taxes.
The football legend, who helped Germany win the 1972 European Championship and then the World Cup two years later, came clean about his secret bank account in 2013, filing an amended tax return in the hope of an amnesty in return for paying the tax he owed.
But prosecutors said he did so because investigators were already pursuing his case.
During the four-day trial, he told the court he deeply regretted his “wrongdoing”.
Despite the tax evasion scandal, Hoeness remains a very popular figure at the club he helped build up.
Following his conviction, Hoeness resigned as Bayern Munich president and was later replaced by Karl Hopfner.
