Bayern defender Breno released on bail

Posted Friday, October 07, 2011 by YAHOO Sport

MUNICH (AP)—Bayern Munich defender Breno has been released on bail following his arrest last month in an arson investigation.

The Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper reported Breno paid a ?500,000 ($670,000) deposit—with his club apparently contributing—to be released. The 21-year-old Brazilian was also ordered to surrender his passport.

The decision was made Thursday by an administrative court in Munich. Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge thanked the tribunal for handling the case “fairly and sensitively.”

“It’s an important step in the right direction,” Breno’s lawyer Werner Leitner said.

Kicker reported on its website that Bayern president Uli Hoeness told the court Breno sought help for depression days before the incident.

Investigators suspect Breno set his rented villa on fire on the night of Sept. 20, causing damage estimated at up to ?1.5 million ($2 million).

Police said a technical defect cannot be blamed for the blaze that gutted his Munich suburb home since the fire broke out in several different areas. He was alone in the house at the time.

Breno was arrested to prevent him fleeing the country or tinkering with evidence, and had been in custody since Sept. 24.

“We’re very happy that Breno was released today so he can come back to his family and Bayern,” Rummenigge said on the club’s website.