Reports are out that French police investigating a prostitution network have questioned Bayern Munich star Franck Ribery and Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema in custody about alleged soliciting of sex with a minor.
French media have reported that the players were clients of a nightclub in Paris’s posh Champs-Elysees district that allegedly featured escorts, including the under-18 girl, Zahia Dehar, at the centre of the affair.
The scandal, which gripped France ahead of the World Cup, took a new twist in late April when the young woman at the centre of the case gave a lengthy interview to Paris Match magazine, implicating players and denying being a prostitute.
The offence carries a penalty of three years in prison and a 45,000 euro fine (£38,000), although a conviction hinges on proving the accused knew the minor’s age.