This archive report was first published on 28 October 2021.
Bayern Munich defender Lucas Hernandez has avoided a Spanish jail sentence after a Madrid court accepted his appeal in a 2017 restraining order case.
On October 27, 2021, the Madrid court upheld Hernandez's appeal and suspended the order to enter prison for a period of four years, provided he does not commit any further crimes and pays a fine of 96,000 euros (Sh124mn).
Bayern Munich welcomed the court's decision, with club CEO Oliver Kahn saying, 'We'd assumed that exactly this result would come about. We are all happy that it turned out the way it did.'
Lucas Hernandez, a World Cup winner with France in 2018, was arrested in 2017 for violating a court order banning him from contacting his partner after a violent altercation between the pair.
He and his partner, Amelia Lorente, were both convicted of domestic violence in February 2017. Lorente hit and scratched Hernandez, while the player hit her in the ribs, back, and face, according to the court ruling at the time.
Neither made a complaint against the other, but both were charged by Spain's public prosecutor. They were each sentenced to 31 days of community service and ordered not to see each other for six months.
However, Hernandez was arrested again in 2019 for violating the restraining order, and was sentenced to six months in prison. He had appealed the sentence, which was rejected on the grounds that he was a repeat offender.
The court accepted Hernandez's appeal based on his current family situation and the low probability that he would commit a crime again.
