French footie stars Benzema, Arfa may be questioned in prostitution investigation
April 21st, 2010 - 1:04 pm ICT by ANI
London, Apr 21 (ANI): Two more French football stars have been dragged into an underage prostitution investigation that is being carried out by police after a sex scandal involving Franck Ribery tainted the national football team.
Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema and Marseilles player Hatem Ben Arfa are expected to be questioned as “witnesses” in the probe, according to an unnamed judicial source.
Ribery, 27, and Sidney Govou, 30, have already been summoned before an examining judge following allegations that the Café Zaman, a nightclub on the Champs-Elysées, employed underage prostitutes, The Telegraph reports.
Some 20 girls were arrested in a swoop on the Zaman just over a week ago. The authorities have now shut it and four people have been arrested and charged.
Ribéry, a Bayern Munich midfielder and top French star, could face charges for having sexual relations with a 17-year-old Moroccan woman.
“Judge Andre Dando has yet to decide if Ribéry is to be prosecuted but it remains a possibility,” said a judicial source in Paris.
He added that Ribéry had admitted sleeping with the prostitute on several occasions last year but that he was unaware she was underage when they first met.
Ribéry’s lawyer Sophie Bottai has denied any wrongdoing. Arfa also yesterday strenuously denied any link with the investigation.
Lawyers for Benzema and Govou denied any wrongdoing on the part of their clients. (ANI)
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