Former Manchester City and Bayern Munich defender, footballer Jerome Boateng has been fined £1.5 million by a court in Munich after being found guilty of biting and punching his ex-girlfriend.
The German football star, 33, was convicted of assaulting his ex-fiancée Sherin Senler during a Caribbean holiday three years ago but avoided a potential five-year jail term.
Ms Senler, who is the mother of his twin daughters, told the court on Thursday September 9, that Boateng bit her and spat blood in her face, and punched her in the kidney so hard she could not breathe.
Boateng had earlier denied all the allegations made against him as he testified for almost two hours on Thursday. The footballer claimed that he was the one who was attacked, telling the court that his Ms. Senler had become aggressive and insulting towards him, and hit him - injuring his lip.
Boateng was convicted of causing dangerous bodily harm to Senler and insulting her in an incident in 2018 while they were on holiday in the Turks and Caicos Islands in the Caribbean.
He was then handed the £1.5 million fine, the highest possible financial damages that could be imposed by the Munich District Court.
After judge Kai Dingerdissen gave his verdict, Boateng left the courtroom, surrounded by bodyguards, and drove off in a black SUV.
Prosecutor Stefanie Eckert had called for a suspended 18-month prison sentence and a fine of £1.2 million (1.5 million euros) for what she described as a 'toxic relationship'. Last year German newspaper Bild reported that Boateng, who now plays in France for Lyon, is alleged have 'thrown a small glass candle holder' at Senler while away on holiday.
His representatives have consistently maintained that the accusations are based on unproven claims from a third party.
According to German newspaper Bild, Boateng told the court that when Ms Senler became aggressive towards him, he pushed her away from him, causing her to fall.
He maintained that he did not throw a lantern at her, but rather a pillow against the table. This caused the lantern to fall, he said.
The footballer said the holiday was 'very nice' and 'peaceful', and that everyone had been in a 'good mood' until an argument broke out over a card game.
His girlfriend and one of her friends had accused him of cheating while playing cards, Boateng told the court, with the argument escalating to the point where they were arguing about their lives.
Boateng said he wanted to move from his then-club FC Bayern Munich to Paris that summer. The argument was also about loyalty in their relationship, he said.
The following day, he said the pair returned to getting along again, saying Ms Senler seemed to be in a good mood, and that the broken lantern had been cleaned up by a member of staff. 'I then said - in English: Sorry for the mess,' he told the court.
But Ms Senler' gave a different testimony. 'He grabbed my eye with his thumb,' she said. 'He tore my hair, then bit me in the head. (...) He opened his lip, pulled my head back and spat blood on my face. '
She said she then fell to her knees, at which point he punched her in the kidneys, she claimed - so hard that she couldn't breathe.
'Such assaults were the order of the day. We had a turbulent, toxic relationship,' she told the court, adding that she reported him, 'because otherwise it would never have stopped.'
Senler began dating Boateng in 2007 but the pair endured a rocky relationship together. The pair's broke up in 2011 - the same year twins Soley and Lamia were born and had to only communicated through their lawyers.
Boateng and Senler later rekindled their love in 2013 and got engaged the following year but went their seperate ways again following the alleged assault in 2018.
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