Arsenal goalkeeping great Jens Lehmann goes on trial for ‘chainsawing elderly neighbour’s garage, dodging parking fees and insulting police officers’

Arsenal goalkeeping great Jens Lehmann has gone on trial for allegedly using a chainsaw on an elderly neighbour’s garage, dodging parking fees and insulting police officers.

The former Germany international, 54, was accused of trespassing, causing damage, committing fraud and insulting behaviour.

The Invincibles goalkeeper, denied all charges in a court in Starnberg, Bavaria on Friday insisting that ‘enormous damage’ has been done to his reputation.

Last July, Lehmann reportedly damaged the roof beam on his 92-year-old neighbour’s garage with a chainsaw because it supposedly blocked his view of Lake Starnberg in Bavaria.

The police claimed the former goalkeeper was caught causing the damage on a surveillance camera.

Lehmann denied trespassing and said that he would help cut his 92-year-old neighbour’s (pictured) hedges for him as he was ‘not in a position to do that’ due to his age

The BILD report went onto state how the former goalkeeper – who earned millions during his career – has been dodging parking fees by speeding under a barrier at Munich Airport.

On two occasions, once in January 2021 and again in September 2022, Lehmann drove out of the parking garage without paying despite the cost being less than €300 (£260).

Lehmann is said to have followed another vehicle and scurried through before the barrier came down.

During the January 2021 incident, Lehmann is alleged to have parked his Porsche hybrid for two days and charged it at an electric pump.

Lehmann faced a cost of €159 (£137) for parking and €32 (£27) for charging but sped away, despite insisting to employees he would pay.

This led to an email from the airport which asked the former German star to reimburse the costs, but he claimed to have never received the email.

This happened again in September 2022 when the reported combined cost of charging and parking for two days was €128 (£111), but Lehmann was caught by cameras escaping through the barriers without paying.

Lehmann apologised for the incident and said in a statement, according to BILD newspaper 

‘I am sorry. I’m also surprised. The state prosecutor’s office initially dismissed the dispute as irrelevant at the time. 

‘But I am a well-known person. Then the state prosecutor’s office decided to make it bigger. The allegations are not entirely true,’ 

Lehmann is a legend in north London having made 200 appearances for the club and he was part of Arsenal’s title-winning Invincibles team in 2003-04

Lehmann denied trespassing and said that he would help cut his neighbour’s hedges for him as he was ‘not in a position to do that’ due to his age.

He did confirm that there had been dispute about the view, and said it was impaired by the garage. However he went on to describe their relationship as ‘very good’.

He is also alleged to have insulted police officers when they attempted to confiscate his driving licence on a separate occasion after he was caught using his phone while driving and received a one-month ban.

Lehmann told a police officer she had ‘a malfunction in her brain’ and called those that were present liars. 

The trial will resume on December 22. 

In court, Lehmann was asked why he had sawn into the roof beam, and said: ‘I can’t remember’, according to The Times,

The prosecution which was led by Stefan Kreuzer, said the former Arsenal man was a person ‘who does not comply with the law at the lower end of criminal behaviour, but wants to flout it’.

Lehmann’s lawyer, Christoph Rückel, told the court, ‘It was an action in which frustration on both sides played a big role but the escalation is over.’

Lehmann is a legend in north London having made 200 appearances for the club and he was part of Arsenal’s title-winning Invincibles team in 2003-04, while he also winning 61 caps for Germany.