October 13, (THEWILL) – Lucas Hernandez of Bayern Munich and France faces up to a year in prison after a court in Madrid determined that he broke a restraining order granted following a physical incident between him and his fiancée in the Spanish city in February 2017.
Hernandez was an Atletico Madrid player at the time, and he and his companion, Amelia Lorente, were both arrested and incarcerated as a result of their injuries.
Prosecutors had asked a seven-month prison sentence for him and a six-month prison sentence for her, according to reports in Spain at the time. Instead, each was sentenced to 31 days of community service and a six-month restraining order prohibiting them from communicating by any means.
Four months later, the two travelled to Miami together and were apprehended by authorities upon their return to Madrid. Hernandez was arrested and later freed, but Lorente was not imprisoned because the court had not informed her of the restraining order.
Prosecutors sought a year-long sentence for Hernandez in 2018, and the 35th Criminal Court of Madrid has now granted that request. One appeal has already been denied due to the footballer’s failure to complete his first 31 days of community service.
The decision of prison time is the consequence of disregarding a judge’s orders, not the originating incident.
Hernandez, who was born in France but raised in Madrid, must return on October 19 to choose where he will serve his sentence. His legal team, on the other hand, has filed a new appeal, which the court will consider. Even if his appeal is successful, he may still be forced to serve for a few days while it is being considered.
Hernandez signed a €80 million deal with Bayern Munich in 2019, but the German club was not aware of the ongoing legal proceedings until earlier this month.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
