Former Arsenal and Juventus forward Nicklas Bendtner started this fall with a bang, but not in the way a goalscorer might hope. In the wee hours of September 9, Bendtner kicked and punched a cab driver, and he was subsequently found guilty of the assault earlier this month.
The 30-year-old admitted to hitting the driver but argued that it was in self-defense, explaining things escalated after a dispute over the fare. He was initially going to appeal the verdict but today forwent that plan, opting instead to pay a 1,5000 kroner ($230) fine and spend a 50-day jail term at his home in Denmark under "intensive surveillance" with an electronic tag.
Footballers behaving badly. Photo: @TheSportsman | Twitter
The sentencing marks a particularly sharp drop in what has been mostly a downward trend for Bendtner over the past couple of years.
After puttering out towards the tail end of his time at Arsenal, Bendtner had mostly unremarkable stints at Wolfsburg and Nottingham Forest. To his credit, he has enjoyed a bit of a resurgence at his current club Rosenborg, where has been quite prolific. However, one has to wonder what this incident could mean for the big Dane as he heads into the back end of his career. He has also been frozen out of the national team in recent months.
It’s unclear when Bendtner will serve his time, but he’ll probably be receiving a lot of letters from adoring fans while "behind bars." For some years, the forward has had a cult following who refer to him as Lord Bendtner. Time will only tell how 50 days at home treats the “Lord."
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