Lehmann ‘accidentally’ sent the racist message to Dennis Aogo
Jens Lehmann has been sacked by Hertha Berlin’s supervisory board after he ‘accidentally’ sent a message to TV pundit Dennis Aogo asking if he was being used as a “token black guy.”
The former Arsenal goalkeeper mistakenly sent to a WhatsApp message to Aogo, which translates to say in English: “Is Dennis actually your token black one?”, accompanied by a laughing emoji.
Dennis Aogo then posted a screenshot of the message he received from Lehmann on Instagram, along with the caption: “Wow, are you serious? This message was probably not meant for me!!!”
He also tagged Lehmann in the Instagram story.
Following the racist message, Lehmann has been sacked by Hertha Berlin.
In a statement, the club’s president, Werner Gegenbauer, said: “Such statements are in no way representative of the values that Hertha BSC stands for. We distance ourselves from all forms of racism and welcome the action taken by TENNOR Holding.”
ℹ️ Club president Werner #Gegenbauer on #Lehmann: "Such statements are in no way representative of the values that Hertha BSC stands for. We distance ourselves from all forms of racism and welcome the action taken by TENNOR Holding." pic.twitter.com/1fG5XxC7H4
— Hertha BSC (EN) (@HerthaBSC_EN) May 5, 2021
Lehmann has since posted a public apology on Twitter.
In einer privaten Nachricht von meinem Handy an Dennis Aogo ist ein Eindruck entstanden für den ich mich im Gespräch mit Dennis entschuldigt habe. Als ehemaliger Nationalspieler ist er sehr fachkundig und hat eine tolle Präsenz und bringt bei Sky Quote.
— Jens Lehmann (@jenslehmann) May 5, 2021
He said: “In a private message from my mobile phone to Dennis Aogo, an impression was created for which I have apologised for in conversation with Dennis. As a former national player, he is very knowledgeable and has a great presence and drives up Sky ratings.”
Lehman replaced Jurgen Klinsmann on the club’s supervisory board in May 2020. However he has now been sacked by the club following the WhatsApp messages.
Executive Vice President of Sky Sports, Charly Classen, said: “Dennis Aogo is a valued colleague and excellent expert and we are very happy to have him on our team. At Sky, we condemn all forms of racism and we don’t give racism space or a platform.”
