Picture Credit: Imago
Bayern Munich and France defender Lucas Hernandez will not be going to prison after his appeal was upheld at the Provincial Court of Madrid. Notably, the suspension of the sentence will be for a period of four years as long as Hernandez does not commit any further crime. He also has to pay a fine of 96,000 euros ($111,000).
The World Cup winning France left-back was arrested four years ago in Spain 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. Neither of the two had filed a complaint against the other but both were charged by Spain's public prosecutor.
The duo were each sentenced to 31 days of community service and were also ordered not to see each other for six months. However, Hernandez was arrested at a Madrid airport four months later as he was in the company of Lorente, who was not arrested at that time as her own restraining order had not yet been formally served. At that time, the couple were returning to Spain after marrying in the United States. They have since had a son.
Hernandez was sentenced in 2019 to six months in prison, a sentence which he had appealed.
"We consider that the appeal should be upheld and the order to enter prison suspended. Regarding his family and social circumstances, it has been highlighted in the appeal that the convicted person lives with Mrs. de la Osa and their son, without any new incidents between them being recorded," the latest court documents said.
Hernandez had became the most expensive player in Bundesliga history and the second most expensive defender in the history of football when he joined German giants Bayern Munich from Atletico Madrid in 2019 for 80 million euros.