Nicklas Bendtner sentenced to 50 days in jail for breaking taxi driver's jaw after refusing to pay £4.80 fare

Bendtner has appealed the sentence but must pay a fine

Nicklas Bendtner refused to pay a £4.80 taxi fare (Getty)

Former Arsenal forward Nicklas Bendtner has been sentenced to 50 days in jail after being convicted of assaulting a taxi driver.

Bendtner, who has appealed the sentence, has also been ordered to pay the driver over £1,000 in compensation.

After a night out in Copenhagen in September, Bendtner broke the jaw of a taxi driver having refused to pay a £4.80 fare.

The court were shown footage of the current Rosenborg player punching the diver before kicking him as he lay on the ground.

The Danish international apologised for the incident three days later and said he loves to protect people. “I was involved in an extremely unfortunate episode. I could not imagine it would develop as it did, and of course I’m extremely sad that the outcome became as unfortunate as it did,” he said.

“To Rosenborg fans and audiences, I regret that this has happened. I’m sorry with all my heart that we are standing here today.

“To my dear teammates, I regret that this will steal focus in an important time. I thank you for your understanding.

“I have never been a fighter but I protect those I love on and off the pitch.”

Nicklas Bendtner has scored 30 goals in 81 mathces for Rosenborg (Getty)

Since leaving Arsenal in 2014, where he failed to win a trophy during his spell in north London, Bendtner has played for Wolfsburg, Nottingham Forest and Rosenborg after spending time at Birmingham, Sunderland and Juventus on loan.

He has won 81 caps for Denmark, scoring 30 goals, including two in the 2012 European Championship and one in the 2010 World Cup.