Hertha Berlin forward Salomon Kalou could face legal proceedings after chipping pieces out of the Berlin Wall for a TV show prior to Saturday's 2-2 Bundesliga draw against Schalke, according to Berliner Kurier.
Kalou, 29, was filmed ahead of the game by ARD Sportschau at Berlin's famous East Side Gallery, which is made up of 105 paintings by artists on a 1.3 kilometre stretch along one of the last few remaining intact sections of the Berlin Wall. The wall, brought down in 1989, is under monumental protection.
The Ivory Coast international was asked by the TV station to partake in the stunt because Schalke coach Roberto Di Matteo -- Kalou's former boss at Chelsea -- has been nicknamed "Robert Di Mortel [Mortar]" by Bild for his defensive tactics.
ARD TV supplied Kalou with a hammer and chisel, while filming him working, with the piece then broadcast during Saturday's Sportschau show.
"When I saw the pictures I nearly fell from the couch," East Side Gallery chairman Kani Alvai told Berliner Kurier.
The East Side Gallery has the copyrights to the paintings on the wall, and Alvai added: "Someone earning good money increases his market value with this TV shoot at the expense of a monument, without respect. And public TV is right there as well. I am utterly disappointed."
Berliner Kurier, which described the incident as "an own goal," reported that another member of the East Side Gallery has filed a criminal charge against Kalou for the destruction of a monument, with the extent of the damage reaching 10,000 euros.
"We had a similar story a few weeks ago," Alavi added in BZ. "But it was only some paint. And the court sentenced the perpetrator to a 2,500-euro fine."
Berlin-based tabloid BZ, however, claims that the ARD TV feature was filmed during the autumn of 2014 and not in the build-up to Saturday's game.