Badr Hari Receives Really Bad Legal Advice

Badr Hari has been in the news for an entire year. In February, he got into a fight with a a doorman at an Amsterdam nightclub. He served some time in jail for this incident which was directly related to him missing the K-1 World Grand Prix. The fact that he didn't participate was a major issue for many fans who instead got to see Mighty Mo take his place in the tournament.

The doorman from the incident reportedly requested that Badr pay him 15,000 Euros (it's around $20,000 depending on the exchange rate) to not name Badr to the authorities. If this sounds like blackmail it's because it is. Badr's lawyer, Benedicte Ficq, decided it was a good idea to pay the bouncer a third of the requested amount as "hush money" to prevent damage to Badr Hari's pristine reputation and career. Benedicte Ficq is actually one of the better lawyers in the Netherlands, despite this awful legal advice, which makes this story all the more surprising. 

Dutch newspaper "The Telegraaf" has the following quote from Ficq translated by Dave Walsh at Liverkick:

It was hush money paid to the doorman, who had been asked to stop discussing the incident. There is absolutely no truth to it. The doorman kept gossiping and chat that Hari had beaten him, which is not true. It could cause Hari lot of damage to his career, so I thought my client would be smart to pay.

So there you have it. Badr Hari received terrible legal advice from who can only be assumed, a terrible lawyer. Hopefully he makes a big comeback in 2011 and has a rubber match with his rival and new K-1 king, Alistair Overeem, but he'll need to keep out of trouble in his personal life. He can't afford another round of poor legal advice. 

Also thank you to Simon Raedts for the tip via twitter.

EDIT: Reader robsonhorobson has this translation of the article:

It also states that the doorman has gone on a local television network to deny the allegations that were made and that Badr did not hit him (that was after he received the money). The so called ‘’hush money’’ was paid not to hide truth but to stop the doorman from telling lies and keep gossiping.

Needless to say, this situation is quite ridiculous.