Tuesday 3 October 2017 07:13, UK
Romelu Lukaku has denied holding an excessively loud party in Beverley Hills as he was on the verge of a £90m transfer from Everton to Manchester United.
The 24-year-old striker was arrested over an excessive noise complaint after allegedly receiving five verbal warnings from police over a five-day period in California.
The Belgium international did not appear in court in Los Angeles on Monday, as he is with the national team as they prepare for the weekend World Cup Qualifier against Bosnia-Herzegovina, but his lawyer Robert Humphreys entered a plea of not guilty on his behalf.
United completed his signing eight days after his arrest by Beverley Hills Police Department officers at around 8pm on July 2 in his temporary residence in the city.
Two days after the incident, he shared a picture on social media of himself in an apartment in LA with Old Trafford star Paul Pogba.
Commissioner Jane Godfrey, overseeing the case, ordered Lukaku to appear at Los Angeles Airport Courthouse on November 21.
After the hearing, city attorney James Eckart said the striker faces both a fine and paying a sum to cover the cost of the police call-outs that occurred over five days.
Lukaku can opt not to appear in person at the hearing and can instead have a lawyer handle the misdemeanour citation on his behalf.
The big-money signing has scored 15 goals from 12 games since his move from Goodison and United sit joint top of the Premier League table alongside rivals Manchester City on 19 points.
