Footballer fined £60k for 'a**hole' jibe

[movieguy]

Footballer fined £60k for 'a******' jibe

A German football star has been fined £60,000 for calling a policeman an "a******".

Stefan Effenberg, 36, was stopped for speeding on the way back from a match in February 2003.

The policemen reported the midfielder for insulting an officer, claiming he called one of them an "arsehole" before driving off.

Effenberg claims that he said "have a nice evening",

A Lower Saxony court ordered him to pay a £68,000 fine in November 2003 but he appealed against the decision.

The appeal court confirmed the earlier verdict but reduced the fine by only £8,000.

Speaking after the verdict, Effenberg told Bild: "This has got to be a joke. You know me, if I had said a******, I would stand by it."

The ruling could also cause problems for his wife Claudia, 39, who twice made statements in his favour and could be sentenced for giving false testimony.

This in turn could endanger her application for a US green card, which she hopes to secure so that she can move to Florida with her husband.

Effenberg said: "I will definitely appeal the decision. I'll fight it to the last."

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