Boris Becker sentenced to two and a half years in prison
Former tennis star Boris Becker has to go to prison for his bankruptcy crimes. A court in London sentenced the three-time Wimbledon winner to two and a half years in prison, of which he must serve at least half.
The Daily Mail finds that an “insatiable appetite for women, houses, cars and luxury” has brought Boris Becker behind bars. Other media also show compassion. The press reviews of the fallen tennis hero who is now in prison.
Boris Becker is in prison. He has to stay there for 15 months after being convicted of delaying bankruptcy, then he can spend the second part of his sentence on probation in freedom. While companions and other celebrities show sympathy for the fallen tennis hero, the press is much more sober in many parts.
The English Daily Mail attests the inmates an “unquenchable appetite for women, houses, cars and luxury”. It had to happen because of “fatal business mistakes and fatal arrogance”.
The “Gazzetta dello Sport” put it in a more flowery way. Becker will “no longer watch the world through a tennis net, but through the bars of an English prison,” writes the Italian newspaper: “The child prodigy struggled as an adult. Becker’s reputation is ruined.”
Becker appeared to justify the verdict with a Wimbledon tie
Those: pa / ZUMAPRESS.com / Tayfun Salci
And “La Repubblica” takes on the purple-green accessory that Becker wore on that fateful day: “The Wimbledon tie that Becker wears in court is like a tombstone of his fabulous career of excesses, decline and regret.”
“A career that went completely out of control”
Nevertheless, Die Zeit also feels for Becker: “Hans im Glück exchanged everything away. We all went out with him into the big world that had become small and didn’t win every match out there either. To mock Boris Becker would mean to make yourself better than you are. Every past affection demands respect. After all, we are that legend too. If you trusted your bank advisor and never regretted it, throw the first stone.”
The “SZ” also strikes mild tones: “Becker – that doesn’t excuse anything, but is nevertheless important – has stayed in spheres of being admired that a normal mortal cannot imagine. If everything is organized for you, (…) if the consultants take care of everything, and you only make sure that the body works because the body makes a profit – then something is lost. Then you have the feeling that things will go on like this, then you will also bring through a fortune that actually cannot be sunk.”
In Spain, “AS” judges that Becker’s personal life is a mess: “He also looks visually battered, that doesn’t leave him without a trace.” The “NZZ” from Switzerland sees it similarly: “It’s the low point of a career , which got completely out of hand.”
“It was really violent, it’s not a trivial offense. That’s not funny”
dr Jürgen Rodegra, specialist lawyer for international business law, analyzes the judgment against Boris Becker at WELT. He is an expert on the Anglo-Saxon legal system and says what appeals Becker can lodge against the verdict.
