“He used his social position to create fear,” the chairman of the court said at the announcement of the verdict to the football player. The backstory is an early morning quarrel in Basel’s Steinenvorstadt in May 2018. Embolo responded with sentences such as “Do you really know who I am?” got into a fight with two men. This was done for “an insignificant reason” and because of “wounded vanity.”

“It was a bit mean that he didn’t want to get his hands dirty himself,” said the presiding judge. In addition to the threats, the dispute in question also resulted in physical violence. For this, however, not Embolo, but his good friend, was to answer in court as the second defendant. He was sentenced to a suspended sentence of 10 months in prison for inflicting simple bodily harm. He is said to have broken the nasal bone of one of the two men with a punch.

No satisfaction for Embolo

Embolo is said to have yelled at two sentences like “I’ll squash you” and “I’ll let you beat you too, you son of a bitch.” The judge relied on the testimony of witnesses. “Three men and two women clearly described that Embolo was aggressive,” she said at the beginning of the verdict. There is no doubt that he intimidated these two and threatened them with physical violence.

The chairman of the court acknowledged that Embolo’s trial dragged on for two years. Therefore, the number of daily rates has been reduced. The previous traffic verdict had little effect: the president of the court issued a suspended fine with a two-year probation because “there was no relevant criminal record”. In evaluating the sentence, the court decided on the maximum daily rate of CHF 3,000 based on information on the annual income of a professional athlete with a contract with AS Monaco.

The court rejected the football player’s claim for satisfaction due to “media bias”. He also does not have to pay compensation to the two victims. The threat weighs too little for that, the judge said. The decision of the second defendant is different. He must pay compensation to the beaten man in the amount of 3,000 francs. According to the chairman of the court, the victim is still suffering from the consequences of a broken nose, such as difficulty breathing.

Bril Embolo took to his Instagram channel after the verdict was announced. He posted a photo of the journalists present at the trial and the words to it: “All of you, M ***********, mind your own business.” He also wrote in the story that only God can judge him. The quotes are taken from the song “Only God Can Judge Me” by American rapper Tupac Shakur, which Embolo put under the photos.

(osk/sda)