Jérôme Boateng: Despite the court ruling – fans celebrate him on Lyon debut

Stand: 12:59 p.m.| Reading time: 4 minutes

In the 61st minute it got loud at Lyon’s Groupama Stadium. Because in the shadow of his teammate Maxence Caqueret, the number 27 of the home team on the sidelines prepared for a substitution. It belongs to ex-world champion Jérôme Boateng, who was signed by Olympique Lyon after the transfer deadline. The 33-year-old made his debut against Racing Strasbourg and was accompanied on the pitch by 33,267 spectators in a 3-1 (1-0) win to thunderous applause.

Three minutes later, Boateng was able to cheer for the first time, together with defensive colleague Jason Denayer, who after a brief corner from Xherdan Shaqiri, headed free to 2-0 (64th). Moussa Dembelé had previously brought the team of former Leverkusen Bundesliga coach Peter Bosz into the lead (8th). With Denayer, Boateng is to form Lyon’s central defender duo in the future, with his experience to stabilize the defensive, which conceded seven goals in the first four games before Boateng’s free transfer.

Another followed in the seventh minute of stoppage time. Habib Diallo hit a hand penalty for the guests after Malo Gusto got the ball on the outstretched arm. Bearable for Boateng, who was neither involved nor had to seriously fear that the victory would still be in danger. Lucas Paqueta made sure of that in the 87th minute. After his preliminary decision to make it 3-0, he was also delighted by Boateng, who certainly enjoyed the fact that he was celebrated by the supporters of his new club with appropriate chants.

Boateng denied allegations in court

How forgotten are the sporty and private turbulent weeks that culminated in the Munich District Court. The court convicted Boateng last Thursday of willful assault on his ex-girlfriend. He has to pay 1.8 million euros in 60 daily rates of 30,000 euros each. The court proceeded from “a punch in the face”, as it says in the judgment. It is not yet final. The public prosecutor’s office demanded a higher sentence and is now examining an appeal.

The background to this is a dispute on a family vacation three years ago. According to the indictment, Boateng is said to have beaten, punched, bitten in the head, thrown her on the floor and insulted her violently. The father of three children vehemently denied the allegations in court, and his defense lawyer Kai Walder accordingly demanded acquittal.

Boateng only admitted that there was a more violent argument and spoke of a “very toxic” relationship with his ex-girlfriend, with whom he has been fighting in the family court since 2015 about the right to determine the residence of their children.

Half-brother Kevin-Prince broke up with Jérôme Boateng

And as if that weren’t enough, his half-brother followed suit after the verdict that Boateng did not have a criminal record. “I distanced myself from Jérôme a long time ago,” said Kevin-Prince of BILD. “I appreciate and respect German law. I despise violence against women. I don’t identify with my brother’s actions and that’s why I have nothing more to do with him. ” At least since the nasty foul played by the midfield player for Ghana on Michael Ballack at the 2010 World Cup, the relationship between the half-brothers is considered tense. So now the final break.

The fans of Olympique Lyon don’t seem to care, with their support Jérôme Boateng could at least get back on track. The 2014 world champion was last without a club, his contract with Bayern Munich expired on June 30th. There was speculation about a return to Hertha BSC, but Boateng decided to work with the French Europa League participant, with whom he signed a two-year contract at the beginning of the month. “I also had other offers, but I made up my mind quickly and I am convinced that I had made a good choice,” he said when he introduced the company.

The club has not yet commented on the allegations, but according to a report by BILD, Boateng’s status within the club is controversial, in particular the large-scale marketing campaign with him should be viewed critically. So it should remain uneasy.

The tight schedule creates distraction. Boateng could make his international debut for Lyon in the Europa League on Thursday, before going to Paris St. Germain in the league game on Sunday. Boateng was supposed to change there in 2018, but the transfer did not take place. In this context, Boateng is said to have argued with his ex-girlfriend about how they should organize family life, as he said in court.

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