If you are wondering what all the fuss is about Jehns Lehmann. Here is a simple breakdown. Jens Lehmann was trying to talk behind Dennis Aogo’s back and mistakenly sent the message to Dennis himself on Whatsapp. “Is Dennis actually your token black guy?” the message reads. Dennis, a German international who won 12 caps for Die Mannschaft posted the racist statement on his Instagram story and tagged Jens.
The former Hamburg and Schalke left-back Aogo has been working as a pundit for Sky Germany since retiring last year. He was in the studio covering Manchester City’s Champions League semi-final clash with Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday. Hertha BSC immediately announced that Lehmann will no longer be a part of the supervisory board at the Bundesliga club.
President Werner Gegenbauer said: “Such statements in no way correspond to the values that Hertha BSC stands for and actively advocates. Hertha BSC distances itself from any form of racism.”
The former Milan, Arsenal, Borussia Dortmund, Stuttgart, and Schalke keeper has offered an apology. The ex-goalkeeper to BILD: “I’ve already phoned Dennis and asked his forgiveness if my statement came across as disrespectful. It wasn’t meant that way at all, it was positive. Because he is competent as a Sky expert and very strong in his demeanor. And that’s why the quota has increased. That’s what I wanted to say, but I was unhappy about it. Since the WhatsApp went out from my cell phone, I take responsibility for it. It was a private message.
Sky Germany issued a statement saying “Dennis Aogo is a highly esteemed colleague and an excellent pundit, and we are glad to have him in our team. We at Sky condemn any form of racism and give no space or platform to racism. Sky have often had Jens Lehmann as a guest on our programme and are very disappointed by his behaviour. We do not plan to invite him back onto our broadcasts again.”
This very racist comment comes the very week in which English Premier League clubs went on a social media break to protest racist social media posts. People are already dissociating themselves from him. Lehmann had a consultancy contract with Tennor for sports and football issues. “The consultancy contract with Mr. Lehmann will be terminated. This means that the posting to Hertha’s supervisory board is no longer applicable,” Tennor Holding spokesman Andreas Fritzenkötter told Sky in Germany.
