A German court on Wednesday upheld Jerome Boateng’s assault conviction for attacking his ex-girlfriend in 2018, and ordered the footballer to pay a fine of 1.2 million euros.
He was found guilty last year of assaulting and insulting his former partner, the mother of his twin daughters, during a Caribbean holiday four years ago.
Boateng had always denied the allegations and sought an acquittal on appeal.
The district court in Munich confirmed he was guilty, but reduced the original fine — calculated according to the accused’s net income — from 1.8 million euros to 1.2 million euros.
Judges “dismissed the defendant’s appeal as unfounded,” the court said in a statement.
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The prosecution had sought an 18-month suspended sentence.
During the initial trial, Boateng’s former partner told the court that Germany’s 2014 World Cup winner had punched her, causing her to lose her breath for a moment during a heated argument while on a luxury holiday.
The incident happened in the weeks after the World Cup in Russia, when Boateng was in the Germany squad which was knocked out in the group stage.
Boateng’s former partner described how he “pressed against my eye with his thumb, bit me in the head and pulled me to the floor by my hair.”
She said the 34-year-old repeatedly insulted her and hit her on the back with “one strong punch and several light punches”.
Boateng played for German giants Bayern Munich for a decade before signing with French club Lyon in 2021.
AFP
