Eike Immel, the former West Germany goalkeeper, has been sentenced by the regional court in Marburg to two years in prison, suspended, after being convicted on appeal of 107 counts of fraud. The 65-year-old former Bundesliga player had originally been given two years and two months of actual prison time by a lower court in August 2025.
Under the new ruling, Immel must complete a detox program and carry out 200 hours of community service. He has been placed on probation for four years.
Prosecutors in Marburg accused Immel, who is from the town of Stadtallendorf, of borrowing 35,000 euros from acquaintances by claiming he was in financial difficulty, then never repaying the money. Among those he defrauded were former West Germany defender Andreas Brehme and his partner.
Addiction Behind the Fraud
Immel admitted the offences and apologised from the start of his trial. He told the court that a cocaine addiction had driven his actions, and that he had sought the money to fund his drug use.
His lawyer said Immel's last drug use had been a few weeks earlier. It is not the first time Immel has faced fraud charges: in 2008 he was fined 5,200 euros for failing to repay a 15,000-euro loan, and he was declared personally bankrupt the same year.
Reality TV Show Fiasco
Immel's legal troubles came on top of a separate embarrassment earlier this year. According to the newspaper Aujourd'hui Entertainment, he was removed in June from filming of the German television programme Das grosse Promi-Bussen, a show that gives celebrities with damaged reputations a chance to win back public favour, after just two days on set.
Christoph Korfer, a spokesperson for the streaming platform Joyn, which broadcasts the programme, said the contestant had committed several breaches of conduct. The tabloid Bild reported that Immel had made racist remarks, defended the use of the word "Negerkuss" (a term for a chocolate-coated marshmallow treat that is widely considered a racial slur in Germany), recited the first verse of the German national anthem, a verse associated with Nazi-era ideology, and had an altercation with a fellow contestant.
Immel Responds to Racism Claims
Responding to the allegations, Immel told Bild that he was not racist and that he had wanted to denounce what he called the absurdity of language policing. He said he was not at all proud of the controversy and wished to apologise.
His lawyer, Burkhard Benecken, said Immel had been under exceptional stress at the time, which he offered as an explanation for his conduct on the show.
Playing Career
Immel played more than 500 professional matches during his career, turning out for Borussia Dortmund, VfB Stuttgart and Manchester City. He won the German championship in 1992 and earned 19 caps for the West Germany national team between 1980 and 1988, helping the side win the European Championship in 1980.
