Former international player in court: lenient sentence for Jérôme Boateng

First it was 1.8 million euros, then 1.2 million – now it’s just a warning: In the new trial against former national football player Jérôme Boateng, the Munich I Regional Court has handed down a much more lenient verdict. Although the 2014 world champion was found guilty of intentional bodily harm, he was only given a warning. A fine of 40 daily rates of 5,000 euros each was imposed with reservations.

Similar to a suspended prison sentence, Boateng only has to pay the 200,000 euros if he violates his conditions. These stipulate that he must pay 50,000 euros each to two charitable organizations that support children. Because: “In my opinion, the ones who really suffer in this process are the children,” says presiding judge Susanne Hemmerich. “The poor children.” The probation period was set at one year. If Boateng fulfills his conditions, the fine will be waived.

“I am infinitely relieved that this nightmare that has lasted for years is now over,” said Boateng, according to his spokesman. “This is especially important for my children. Now I want to concentrate on my family and football.”

“Nothing remains of the accusation of the notorious wife beater”

The court came to the conclusion “that nothing remains of the accusation of being a notorious wife beater,” as Judge Hemmerich put it. He had behaved incorrectly on a vacation six years ago. But the whole thing should also be seen in the context of a “toxic relationship” with Boateng’s ex-girlfriend and mother of their twin daughters, who are now 13 years old – and against the background that there was a dispute in family court and financial demands from the ex-partner.

The court does not see any confirmation of the charges that Boateng bit his then partner on the head during a Caribbean vacation in 2018 and threw a lantern and a cooler bag at her. “We do not have a terrible wife beater here,” says Hemmerich. “We have a person here who once lost control of a relationship.” Boateng admitted to pushing his ex-girlfriend.

Court spokesman Laurent Lafleur explained after the verdict: “When determining the sentence, the chamber took into account that there was mutual physical injury and that it was not only the accused who hit the victim, but also, on the day of the crime, according to the chamber’s findings, there were also physical assaults by the victim on the accused.”

Defence lawyer and co-plaintiff’s lawyer both satisfied

Boateng’s defense attorney Leonard Walischewski speaks of a “very good, fair verdict.” His 35-year-old client is now relieved. “He is pleased that he can now find peace.” Boateng wants to “return to his normal life.”

The lawyer for Boateng’s ex-girlfriend, Carolin Lütcke, was also satisfied with the court’s decision. “We were looking for a guilty verdict, so we are satisfied.” Much higher penalties were on the table: the public prosecutor’s office had demanded a fine of 1.12 million euros.

Lengthy procedure

The proceedings against the long-time defender of FC Bayern Munich, who just moved from the Italian club US Salernitana to Linzer ASK in Austria, are dragging on for a long time. The Munich District Court had already imposed a fine on Boateng in 2021: 60 daily rates of 30,000 euros each, a total of 1.8 million euros.

In October 2022, the Munich I Regional Court sentenced Boateng in the second instance for bodily harm and insult to a fine of 120 daily rates of 10,000 euros each – a total of 1.2 million euros. But the Bavarian Supreme Regional Court overturned the verdict, among other things because of consistent legal errors – which is why the case was reopened before the Munich I Regional Court.

“That’s the end of the matter. Fortunately – after six years,” said Judge Hemmerich after the verdict. But whether that is actually the case will only become clear in a week. Because the verdict is not yet legally binding. The public prosecutor, the co-plaintiff and the defense can appeal again. At first, none of them wanted to rule that out.