Jens Lehmann: Former Arsenal goalkeeper sacked by Hertha Berlin for asking if pundit was ‘token black guy’

What happened?

The 51-year-old sent a WhatsApp message to Aogo, asking: “Is Dennis actually your Quotenschwarzer (token black guy)?”

Aogo then posted a screenshot of the message on his Instagram story, captioning it: “Wow, are you serious? This message was probably not meant for me.”

There was a swift response from Hertha, where Lehmann was a member of the Bundesliga club’s supervisory board.

Club president Werner Gegenbauer released a statement, which said: “Such statements are in no way representative of the values that Hertha BSC stands for.

“We distance ourselves from all forms of racism and welcome the action taken by TENNOR Holding.”

Lehmann claimed he was using Quote (quota) in reference to TV ratings, which is also Quote in German.

What has Lehmann said?

Lehmann took to his own Twitter and wrote: “In a private message from my mobile phone to Dennis Aogo, an impression was created for which I apologised in conversation with Dennis.

“As a former national player he is very knowledgeable and has a great presence and drives ratings to Sky.”

Who is Lehmann?

Lehman is a former Premier League and German international goalkeeper.

At club level, Lehmann enjoyed spells at Schalke, AC Milan and Arsenal.

Since retiring, Lehmann has taken up roles in coaching and as a pundit on German television.

The 51-year-old replaced Jurgen Klinsmann’s place as a member of Hertha Berlin’s supervisory board in May last year.

What did he achieve in his career?

Lehman won the UEFA Cup with Schalke, the club where he began his career, in 1996-97.

After leaving Schalke, he went on to win league titles with AC Milan and Borussia Dortmund before joining Arsenal in 2003.

Lehmann was a member of the ‘Invincibles’ Arsenal squad, playing every match in their unbeaten Premier League title-winning season in 2003-04.

While at the north London club, he also won the FA Cup in 2004-05 and was part of the squad who finished runners-up in the 2005-06 UEFA Champions League.

Lehmann also holds the UEFA Champions League record for the most consecutive clean sheets, having not conceded a goal in 10 matches while at Arsenal.

On the international stage, he was a regular with Germany for a 10-year spell from 1998 to 2008 and was a member of the teams that were runners-up at the 2002 World Cup and also third at the 2006 competition.

What did Aogo achieve in his career?

Aogo spent majority of his playing career in the Bundesliga.

The former left-back amassed 340 appearances in the top two divisions of German football over a 16-year professional career.

Aogo also gained 12 senior Germany caps and was a member of the 2010 World Cup squad that finished third.

(Photo: Frederic Scheidemann/Getty Images)

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