Christoph Metzelder
Court sentenced ex-soccer star to suspended sentence
Christoph Metzelder on the day of the trial in the Düsseldorf District Court
© imago images / Michael Gstettenbauer
Former soccer star Christoph Metzelder was sentenced to a suspended sentence of ten months by the Düsseldorf District Court.
The former professional soccer player Christoph Metzelder (40) has been sentenced to a prison sentence of ten months on probation by the Düsseldorf District Court for passing on child and youth pornographic files. The verdict is not yet legally binding. The former professional from Borussia Dortmund, Real Madrid and Schalke 04 previously admitted during the process that he had forwarded 18 such files. He did not admit that he owned 300 other files. The public prosecutor had accused him of this.
Metzelder said in a statement to the court that he only owned what he had sent. “I accept the punishment and ask forgiveness from the victims of sexual violence. I will have to live with this guilt as part of society for the rest of my life”, said the former vice world champion according to the WDR to the judge. Metzelder had therefore never planned an attack or was active on the Darknet.