National player Julian Brandt from Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund is threatened with a fine. This is reported by “Bild”.
According to the tabloid, the BVB professional did not attend an appointment before the district court in Leverkusen Opladen on Monday morning. If it is confirmed that the judge’s invitation has been formally served, the 27-year-old could face a fine. The amount depends on his income, which “Bild” estimates at around seven million euros a year.
The midfielder was set to testify as a witness in the Claudio Bega case. Bayer Leverkusen’s Jonathan Tah had filed a criminal complaint against the 30-year-old, who claims to be Tah’s player agent, and accused him of attempting and completing extortion.
Bega, on the other hand, denies the allegations. He is friends with Tah, which should prove a video recorded in 2015, which also shows the then Leverkusen player Brandt.
Tah had testified several times since the trial began in early May, and Bayer teammates Karim Bellarabi and Nadiem Amiri were also questioned in court.
Bayer professional Tah: “I was scared”
Jonathan Tah and Claudio Bega met in 2012 when the central defender was still at Hamburger SV. At the time, Bega is said to have considered himself an advisor to the up-and-coming footballer, and according to the indictment, he is said to have extorted Tah for a total of around 38,000 euros over a period of several months. Bega, on the other hand, emphasized that he had received the payments for consulting services.
The situation escalated in 2015: According to Bega, he received two slaps in the face from Tah, and two friends are said to have hit the accused. The 16-time German national player stated that he had previously seen a blackjack in the center console of Bega’s car and was therefore afraid. As compensation for the slaps, Bega is said to have later demanded 200,000 euros.
“I was scared,” said the Leverkusen professional at the first court hearing when asked why he had repeatedly gotten involved with Bega over the past few years. According to his own statement, he only kept up the friendship out of fear of Bega. It was not until spring 2021 that Tah finally filed a complaint and informed his club Bayer Leverkusen about the events.