Jens Lehman, the former Arsenal goalkeeper, has been fined €135,000 (£113,000) by a court in his hometown of Starnburg for damaging his neighbour’s garage with a chainsaw.
The 54-year-old was accused by the public prosecutor of sawing off a roof beam in the garage, and had been initially fined €420,000 (£351,000) over the July 2022 incident, which was reduced on appeal.
Following after Friday’s decision, Lehmann’s lawyer Florian Ufer was quoted as saying: “Mr Lehmann accepts responsibility. He has come to an agreement with his neighbour.”
Judge Tanja Walter, on the other hand, said that the ex-German international had “consistently portrayed himself as a victim of the justice system”, but noted that he was “not a victim, he is a perpetrator”, and that his behaviour proved “that he obviously believes he is above the law”.
Lehmann, who also paid parking fees at Munich airport he had allegedly been avoiding, recently bought the branding rights to the “Invincibles”, the trademark used for Arsenal’s unbeaten 2003/04 Premier League title-winning season.
