Lukaku Arrested in LA

Belgium soccer player Romelu Lukaku, who is close to joining English Premier League club Manchester United, was arrested in southern California and issued a citation after failing to heed noise warnings, Beverly Hills police said yesterday.

The arrest was made on July 2 at about 8 p.m. local time after police responded to noise complaints at the Beverly Hills home that Lukaku, who is negotiating a deal to join United from their top-flight rivals Everton, was staying in.

“Beverly Hills Police Department officers arrested a 24-year-old male subject by the name of Romelu Lukaku Bolingoli,” the department said in a press release emailed to Reuters.

“Bolingoli received a misdemeanor citation for… Excessive Noise. The citation was issued after officers responded to five other noise complaints from the same location, which resulted in verbal warnings.

“These noise violations occurred at a residence in Beverly Hills where Bolingoli was temporarily residing. Bolingoli was released at the scene with the citation and was not physically arrested.”

Lukaku is scheduled to appear at the Los Angeles Airport courthouse on October 2, police said.

The news comes less than a day after United announced they had agreed a transfer fee to buy the Belgium international forward from Everton, subject to a medical and personal terms.

The prolific goalscorer will have his medical in Los Angeles, British media reports say, before joining United there for the club’s pre-season tour, which starts with a game against North American Major League Soccer team LA Galaxy on Saturday. Lukaku has scored more than 100 goals in four seasons at Everton.