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Roberto Blanco (2019): Pop singer and tennis fan
Photo: Uli Deck / dpa
The Southwark Crown Court jury in London was not too lenient with the objections of his lawyer Jonathan Laidlaw: Former tennis star Boris Becker has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison for delaying bankruptcy.
The court handed down the sentence after a jury found it proven that Becker had withheld several possessions during the bankruptcy proceedings.
"His reputation, an essential part of the brand that gets him work, is ruined," said
Becker's attorney Laidlaw
after the verdict.
Becker was not only "disgraced" but also publicly humiliated.
The former Wimbledon champion now has 28 days to appeal the verdict.
After the trial, he was immediately taken into custody.
Dietloff von Arnim,
President of the German Tennis Association (DTB)
, said he was upset on the sidelines of the ATP tournament in Munich.
'If there's anything we can do for him, we'll do it.
He did a lot for the DTB," von Arnim said on Sky: "What he did on the tennis court will always be unique.
The verdict is acceptable, but I am shocked.«
The German tennis player
Alexander Zverev
said »t-online«: »Boris was and is very important for German tennis.
That's sad to hear.
I wish him the best.”
The
meteorologist Jörg Kachelmann,
who had to face a trial himself in the past but was acquitted of the charge of raping a woman in 2011, commented on the verdict against Becker on Twitter.
“I wish he had been spared that.
I hope that all of his loved ones will continue to stick with him,” wrote Kachelmann.
He later added that it was "a purely empathetic tweet that in no way questions the sentencing nor downplays what he did."
Baden-Württemberg's Finance Minister
Danyal Bayaz
(Greens) commented briefly on Twitter: "Right and consistent under the rule of law.
A tragedy in terms of sports history.« Becker was born in Leimen in Baden-Württemberg.
After his career, Boris Becker appeared again and again outside of the sporting area on television - as did the former Bayer 04 Leverkusen managing director
Reiner Calmund
.
He could not judge whether the judgment was legally justified, the 73-year-old told the "Bild" newspaper.
'I'm sorry for the man Boris.
I know the children, I can empathize with them.«
Moderator
Verona Pooth
made a similar statement to the newspaper: “As sad as it is, the judiciary made this judgment.
I wish Boris a lot of strength and that his family and friends will continue to support him.
From a friendly and human perspective, for me he will always be Boris Becker, our German sports legend.”
"I'm terribly sorry as a human.
The verdict really shocks me.
For me, Boris remains the great athlete in a sport that I love," said Schlager singer
Roberto Blanco
.
He describes Becker as a "figurehead of tennis" who gave "all of us" special moments on the court.
»And what he does privately is a different matter for me.«
But there were also mocking reactions, especially in the social networks: The moderator and comedy author
Micky Beisenherz
wrote – albeit probably not meant very seriously – on Twitter: “Anyone who had to compete publicly with Pocher in a fly swatter turban years ago has long since served the maximum penalty ." An allusion to Becker's participation in a television show by comedian Oliver Pocher in 2013, in which he had to wear questionable headgear for a game.
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