Football: PSG defender sentenced to jail for police assault

Paris Saint-Germain's defender Serge Aurier (centre) arrives to the Paris courthouse early on Sept 26, 2016 to answer a charge of elbowing a police officer. PHOTO: AFP
Paris Saint-Germain defender Serge Aurier was sentenced to two months in jail on Monday (Sept 26) for assaulting a police officer in May. PHOTO: AFP

(AFP) - Paris Saint-Germain defender Serge Aurier was sentenced to two months in jail on Monday for assaulting a police officer following an incident outside a Paris night club in May.

The court heard that the troubled Ivory Coast international refused to cooperate when asked to leave his tinted-glass Porsche Cayenne car which police said was incorrectly parked outside the club in the early hours in an upmarket district of the capital.

Police said the incident turned violent when an agitated Aurier elbowed one of the officers in the chest, causing him to have to take a day off work.

Aurier denied the charge and was allowed to walk free from the court because no order for immediate incarceration was issued pending a possible appeal. It means the full-back could play for PSG in their Champions League tie against Ludogorets in Bulgaria on Wednesday.

The 23-year-old star, who has had recent disciplinary problems with his club, rejected the police account of the incident and said he was the victim of violence. He has filed a complaint against the police.

The court also ordered him to pay €600 euros (S$918) in damages and interest as well as €1,500 in court costs.

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