Boateng could have faced a prison sentence
Former Bayern Munich and Germany defender Jerome Boateng has been found guilty of assaulting his ex-girlfriend.
The 33-year-old had denied claims made by the mother of his twin daughters, known as Sherin S, that he had punched her in the face during an argument while the pair were on holiday in the Caribbean three years ago.
She told a court in Munich that she had been struck with such force that she momentarily lost breath.
Prosecutors accused Boateng of wilful bodily harm prior to the trial – throwing a lamp and a small cooling box at her. Testifying in the court, the woman said he had punched her, pulled her hair and bitten her head during the incident – as well as being verbally abusive towards her.
Boateng gave a different version of events in his own testimony, though admitted things had escalated between the pair during a game of cards. He claimed that she had become aggressive and insulting during the argument, and that she had hit him, causing an injury to his lip.
He explained that she had fallen when he attempted to push her away, and that the lamp had fallen on the floor when he had thrown a pillow against a table.
Boateng arrived at the court on Thursday morning, accompanied by his lawyer, Kai Walden. Though he could have faced a jail term of up to five years under Germany’s domestic violence laws, he was instead ordered to pay her £1.5m – the highest possible financial damages the Munich District Court could have imposed. He can appeal the decision.
The trial had been due to take place at the end of last year, when the defender was still a Bayern player, but was postponed due to the unavailability of a witness.
Since then, he has left the Bundesliga champions following the expiration of his contract, joining Ligue 1 side, Lyon.
