French international striker and captain of AS Monaco Wissam Ben Yedder has been indicted for rape in connection with facts dating back to early July on the Côte d’Azur, just days before the resumption of Ligue 1. Judicial information has been opened against the 32-year-old international footballer (19 caps), placed under judicial supervision, who had to “pay a deposit of 900,000 euros”, the prosecution told AFP. Nice, confirming initial information from Nice-Matin.
Wissam Ben Yedder spent 48 hours in police custody between Tuesday and Thursday, the Nice prosecutor’s office told AFP, which had requested the detention of the player but this was refused by the judge of freedoms and detention. The player from Sarcelles (Val d’Oise) and his younger brother were both indicted for “rape, attempted rape and sexual assault” for facts dating back to July 10. His judicial control authorizes him to travel to France but the attacker will have to inform the justice system in the event of travel abroad, we learned from a source familiar with the matter. On the professional level, this measure will have little effect on the Principality club, which finished last season in sixth place and therefore does not play in the European Cup.
The Ben Yedder brothers are the subject of a complaint filed by two young adult women of French nationality who are not from the Nice region, AFP learned from a source familiar with the matter. The facts allegedly took place during an evening spent in the town of Beausoleil (Alpes-Maritimes), which adjoins Monaco, during which the Ben Yedder brothers allegedly “imposed sexual acts on them”, according to France Info.
Since then, the investigation has been ongoing but this has not apparently disturbed the player’s preparation so far. This one had been aligned and had even scored on penalty, on August 7 during the last friendly pre-season match of the Monegasques against Bayern Munich (defeat 4-2). Contacted by AFP, AS Monaco did not wish to react, referring to its press release published on July 13 in which the club said it was “not in a position to comment”, the case “being subject to legal proceedings”.
It is nevertheless a blow for AS Monaco, of which Ben Yedder, who is starting his fifth season on the Rock, is one of the centrepieces: he is coming off a very successful season with 25 goals to his credit. all competitions combined (including 19 in Ligue 1). Will he be aligned for the resumption of the championship on Sunday in Clermont? During the traditional pre-match press conference, the new Austrian coach Adi Hütter confirmed that Ben Yedder would be captain and starter on Sunday. But this came before the formalization of his indictment by the Nice prosecutor’s office.
Friday morning, the Blues striker, who has not been recalled by Didier Deschamps since June 2022 during the Croatia-France Nations League match (1-1), was at the AS Monaco training center. at La Turbie. Before training, he spent several minutes talking one-on-one with his coach Adi Hütter, noted an AFP journalist.
Ben Yedder, who turns 33 on Saturday, made his professional debut in Toulouse before joining Spanish club Sevilla FC in 2016, where he confirmed his potential. Back in France in 2019, under the colors of AS Monaco, he has 19 selections for the French team (3 goals). In April, he was sentenced by the court of Seville (southern Spain) to a six-month suspended prison sentence and a fine of 133,798.70 euros for tax evasion.
Before him, another Blue had been accused of rape: the 2018 world champion Benjamin Mendy. Tried in England, the 28-year-old defender was acquitted in mid-July by British justice of all the charges against him after being found not guilty of rape and attempted rape during a second trial. He immediately signed in Lorient (L1).
