Paris St-Germain's Serge Aurier given two-month jail term

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Paris Saint-Germain's defender Serge Aurier arrives to the Paris courthouse early on 26 September 2016 to answer a charge of elbowing a police officer.Image source, AFP

Ivory Coast footballer Serge Aurier, who plays for Paris St-Germain (PSG), has been sentenced to two months in jail for elbowing a police officer.

Aurier was also fined €600 (£521, $674) in damages over the incident at a Paris nightclub in May.

He will remain free pending an appeal, which means he could play for PSG in the Champions League on Wednesday.

The 23-year-old was suspended earlier this year over his comments about the then-PSG coach Laurent Blanc.

Aurier was convicted on Monday of elbowing a police officer after leaving a nightclub in the early hours of 30 May.

The defender had been stopped to take a breath test after leaving a Parisian nightclub.

Image source, AFP
Image caption,
Aurier (C) was sent off after a second yellow card during PSG's defeat by Toulouse on Friday

According to the police account, the officer involved needed to take a day off work to recover from his injuries.

Aurier denied the charge, arguing that he was a victim of police violence.

In addition to paying damages, he was charged a further €1,500 (£1,304; $1687) to cover court costs.

The PSG defender has had a troubled year. His suspension from the Ligue 1 side in February came after he appeared to use homophobic language to insult then-coach Laurent Blanc.

He also called his team-mate Angel di Maria a "clown" as he answered fan questions on social media app Periscope.

On Friday, he was sent off for a foul in the first half of PSG's Ligue 1 match against Toulouse.

Despite the sentencing, Aurier is expected to be available for PSG's tie against Ludogorets in Bulgaria on Wednesday.