German giants Bayern Munich have fined defender Jerome Boateng after he broke a coronavirus lockdown rules.
Boateng left Bavaria, the German state on lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, without the club's permission to see his ill son and crashed his car on the motorway on his way back
He was caught in a hailstorm and slipped off the road in his Mercedes equipped with summer tyres, but escaped the accident uninjured.
Bayern released a statement on Wednesday confirming Boateng has been fined for his behaviour and will devolve the money to local hospitals.
"Boateng has transgressed the guidelines issued by the club by being too far away from his home," the club said.
"These guidelines govern the behavior of the FC Bayern players in the current situation in line with the Bavarian state government’s directives on restrictions on movement and the recommendations of the health authorities.”
The team said money from the undisclosed fine will be donated to hospitals in Munich.
Boateng, 31, told the German newspaper Bild, he knows it was a mistake not to inform the club about his trip, but at the moment he only had his son in mind.
“He was not in good health. When a son calls his father, of course, I will still go, no matter what time. For him I accept any punishment; after all, he is my son," he said.
Boateng won the UEFA Champions League title with Bayern Munich in 2013 and has scored eight goals to go along with 23 assists in 310 appearances.
He also helped Germany win the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The death toll from the virus in Germany surpassed 1,000 with more than 83,000 cases, according to statistics released Thursday by authorities.