Chelsea Star in court over alleged failure to pay child maintenance
Premier League
By
Mirror
| Jan 20, 2020
The ex of Chelsea footballer Michy Batshuayi has taken him to court over the alleged failure to pay child maintenance for his two-year-old daughter.
Batshuayi, who is paid around £100,000-a-week by Chelsea, has previously been told to pay monthly sums to the mother, Gitte Van Der Elst.
However, it is alleged that Batshuayi, 26, has missed two payments of £2,067, while also being late with others.
Gitte, 26, was at a criminal hearing in Mechelen, new Antwerp, last week.
Two missed payments can be determined as 'family abandonment' in Belgian law.
If he is found guilty, he could face six months in jail and receive a hefty fine. Pierre Monville, the lawyer representing Batshuayi, claimed that payments were now up to date.
He blamed the Batshuayi's representatives for the missed payments.
The verdict was adjourned until next month, but it is expected that judge Suzy Vanhoonacker will acquit the footballer.
Batshuayi initially claimed that he was not the father of the baby - however a separate court ruled that he was liable to paying support for the child's upbringing.
He also has a three-year-old daughter from another relationship.
Gitte told The Sun: “As our child grows up I will tell her who her father is but I will also tell her how hard it was for us at the beginning and that he didn’t want to even know her. As for me, I don’t want anything to do with him.”
She went on: “He thinks I just want to better my financial situation but I don’t care about things like that.
“I just want my daughter, I don’t need him. All that matters is my girl’s future.”