Underage prostitute who slept with Ribery breaks her silence

• Poignant

  19 Apr 10, 20:49

  Franck Ribery questioned by French police over child prostitution case
  

  

  Quizzed: Bayern Munich's Franck Ribery

  Bayern Munich star and France international Franck Ribery has been quizzed by French police investigating an affair of prostitution involving a minor.

  'He was questioned as a witness - for us the matter stops there,' Ribery's lawyer, Sophie Bottai, told AFP on Sunday.

  Earlier a judicial source had confirmed that French investigators had questioned two French national team footballers as part of the inquiry.

  One of the players has admitted having a relationship with a prostitute but denied knowing that she was a minor, the source said on condition of anonymity.

  The two players, who were not identified, were questioned by investigators working for Paris examining magistrate Yves Dando, the source said confirming a report by the M6 television station.

  The investigation concerns a Paris night club, frequented by certain French internationals, which is suspected of employing prostitutes, the source said.

  L'Equipe newspaper reported Sunday that a third French international player could be questioned in coming weeks as part of the same investigation.

  According to his lawyer Ribery was summoned by police to explain his relationship with one of his acquaintances who had connections with a call girl ring.

  

  International: Playmaker Ribery in action for France

  'It was purely to do with this relationship (that he was quizzed by police),' Bottai told RMC radio. No charges were brought against Ribery, she stressed.

  The investigation comes just two months before the World Cup in South Africa where France, the winners in 1998, have been drawn with Mexico, Uruguay and hosts South Africa.

  'There is no reaction to give on a matter like this,' the president of the French Football Federation Jean-Pierre Escalettes told AFP. 'An investigation is underway and I have no information on that. At the moment it is not possible to make a comment,' he added.

• Bus&Soccer l0v3r (VO3x 1)

  19 Apr 10, 22:40

  wa heng witness
  
  skeali he also like that one

• TTFU

  20 Apr 10, 15:42

  I think he admitted himself. pedobear alert

• zocoss

  21 Apr 10, 13:51

  French sex scandal deepens as two more players are named

  • Franck Ribéry 'admits to relationship with prostitute'
  • Karim Benzema and Hatem Ben Arfa say they are innocent

   

  

  Bayern Munich's French midfielder Franck Ribéry is at the centre of a sex scandal.

   

   

   

  France's national football team was further drawn into the sex scandal involving Franck Ribéry yesterday after two more players' names were cited in connection with an investigation into underage prostitution.

  Unnamed judicial sources told the French media that Karim Benzema, the Real Madrid forward, and Hatem Ben Arfa, a striker for Marseille, are expected to be questioned in coming days as "witnesses" in the inquiry.

  The scandal engulfing Les Bleus, which began when Ribéry was questioned by police in connection with a prostitution ring, also deepened after judicial sources said the 27-year-old had admitted having sex with a 17-year-old prostitute but denied having known she was underage. In France it is illegal to buy sex from someone under 18.

  The Bayern Munich forward's lawyer, Sophie Bottai, has insisted that, while the footballer did provide witness testimony to French investigators looking into a ring allegedly run out of a Paris nightclub, he was being heard simply as a witness and not as a suspect.

  No charges were filed against him, said Bottai, and he was not held in police custody.

  However, the rumours swirling around the team have not ceased since reports surfaced at the weekend that Ribéry and his fellow player Sidney Govou had been questioned by French investigators.

  On 12 April police had searched the Zaman Café, a restaurant and nightclub on the Champs Elyseés, and arrested a dozen people, among them prostitutes and a man suspected of being their pimp.

  Refusing to say whether or not his client had been questioned by police, Govou's lawyer, Thierry Braillard, said the 30-year-old had "never set foot" in the Zaman.

  But the player's name has been cited repeatedly in connection with the investigation being led by the investigating judge André Dando. A judicial source said that, while his married team-mate Ribéry remained a witness in the affair, "it is up to the judge to decided whether to formally investigate him [Ribéry] or not".

  In France, prostitution is legal but several activities surrounding it are against the law. If found guilty of paying an underage sex worker, a client could go to prison for three years and be fined up to €45,000 (£39,000).

  Yesterday the two other players drawn into the scandal vehemently denied involvement in alleged activities at the Zaman, which has now been shut down. "It's absolutely not me," Ben Arfa told L'Equipe TV. Even if his client were summoned by the police tomorrow, added his lawyer, "that would change nothing".

  Benzema's agent, Karim Djaziri, also spoke out in defence of his client. "Karim has not been questioned. He has nothing to do with this affair," he told LePost.fr.

  As speculation mounted in Paris, the French football federation (FFF) issued a terse statement saying it was aware of the investigation and certain players' involvement "as mere witnesses". But it said it would "refrain from all comment" until the police had done their job.

• iceFatboy

  21 Apr 10, 13:54

  aiyo, b4 cup semis, this come out, to destabilies the germans huh??

• zocoss

  22 Apr 10, 18:22

  'I love them all': Underage prostitute who slept with Franck Ribery and two other French football stars breaks her silence

   

  

  Scandal: Zahia Dehar, who is not facing charges, told French officers that she had £2,000-a-night sex with three French football players but claims they treated her with 'utter respect'

   

   

   

  The teenage call girl accused of sleeping with at least three French football stars when she was underage today broke her silence over the scandal announcing: ‘I loved them all’.

  Zahia Dehar, now 18, said she was ‘shocked’ that the players were facing up to three years in prison for the crime.

  She said that Franck Ribery, 27, Karim Benzema, 22, and Sidney Govou, 30, had all treated her ‘with utter respect’ and should be left alone.

  It came as provocative pictures of the would-be model were released in Paris.

  Ribery, believed to be a £40 million target for Chelsea, flew the young French Moroccan to a hotel in Germany, where he is currently a winger for Bayern Munich, last Spring.

  He is then said by police to have paid her up to £2,000 for sex – something he continued to do back in France.

  Miss Dehar was one of 18 girls quizzed during a police raid on the Café Zaman, a notorious brothel on the Champs Elysee, last week.

  She has told vice squad officers that she had £2,000-a-night sex with all three players.

  Prostitution is legal in France, but those selling sex must be over 18.

  Miss Dehar, who lives in Paris, even celebrated her 18th birthday with Ribery – many months after their relationship started.

  Ribery – who was sent off for a horror tackle last night playing in the Champions League semi-final against Lyon – told examining magistrates that he ‘saw the girl over a number of months in 2009’. 

  If found guilty the Muslim convert  faces a maximum of three years in prison and a fine of up to £40,000.

  ‘Judge Andre Dando has yet to decide if Ribery is to be prosecuted but it remains a possibility,’ said a judicial source in Paris. 

   

   

  

  Professional: Miss Dehar started working as a prostitute in March 2008 and was making up to £20,000 a month sleeping with wide range of rich clients, especially multi-millionaire footballers

   

  

  Bad to worse: All eyes were on Franck Ribery last night as his Bayern Munich side took on Lyon in the Champions League semi-final first leg - and he managed to get himself sent off

   

  ‘Ribery has admitted having sexual erelationship with the girl over several months, but denies knowing she was underage. He could be in very serious trouble at the worst possible time in his career.

  ‘The same goes for the other players if they are found to have been knowingly sleeping with an underage prostitute.’

  Ribery is hoping to star in this summer’s World Cup finals in South Africa, and is also contemplating a lucrative move from Bayern Munich, to England, Spain or Italy.

  He and the other three players were summoned to appear before Judge Dando after the swoop on the Zaman. It has now been shut by the authorities.

  A man known as 'Abou' from a hit French reality TV show was questioned about his alleged role in acting as a 'pimp' to introduce players to the girls.

  Ribery — bought by Bayern for  £25million in 2007 — converted to Islam to marry his French Algerian wife Wahiba. The couple have two daughters.

  Govou, a winger with Lyon, is single but has a five-year-old daughter with his ex-girlfriend, Pascale. The two men will meet in the Champions League semi-final on Wednesday in Munich.

  Benzema, who plays for Real Madrid and is a target for Manchester United, is believed to be single.

  Despite the new revelations, Sophie Bottai, Ribery's lawyer, continued to deny that her client had slept with the girl.

  ‘This affair does not concern my client and could only, in the worst case, involve his private life alone,’ she said. Lawyers for Govou, and Benzema also deny any wrongdoing.

   

  

  Show of support: Riberty's wife Wahiba, right, was at the game at the Allianz Arena in Munich to watch her husband

   

   

  While international players for teams like England have frequently been involved in scandals involving sex and alcohol, this is the first time that the French have been connected with widespread sleaze allegations.

  France was widely criticised last year for the way they qualified for the World Cup.

  Thierry Henry, the former Arsenal star, was alleged to have handled the ball which set up a goal against Ireland which secured the draw France needed to go to South Africa, where the competition starts in June. 

   

   

  Denial: Ribery's team-mates, Karim Benzema of Real Madrid, left, and Sidney Govou, who plays for Lyon, both deny any wrongdoing

   

  Zahia Dehar celebrated her 18th birthday on February 28th this year. A picture taken on the day shows her celebrating it with Ribery.

  According to police files, Miss Dehar started working as a prostitute in March 2008. She was making up to £20,000 a month sleeping with wide range of rich clients, especially multi-millionaire footballers.

  They would fly her to destinations like Dubai, putting her up in five star hotels. She is also known to have attended European Cup football ties involving English clubs.
  Detectives said Miss Dehar has cooperated fully with their enquiries, and did not face criminal charges herself. 

   

  

  Notorious: Miss Dehar was one of 18 girls quizzed during a police raid on the Café Zaman, a brothel on the Champs Elysee that has now been closed, last week

   

   

  She is currently staying with friends in Paris.  Despite the scandal, indications are that Ribery’s wife will stand by him. She has told his club that she will attend tonight’s European Cup tie against Lyon.

  Miss Dehar told police: ‘I slept with the men, but I wasn’t truthful about my age.
  ‘I loved them all. They treated me with utter respect and should be left alone. They spoiled me, and looked after me. They were my men.’

  Govou is said to have told detectives that ‘I was very surprised when she asked me for money.’

• mrwonderful

  22 Apr 10, 21:37

  ang mohs sex drive so high.

  but we all know these footballers and rich ppl do it because sure wont go jail one. and the fine? haha thats a joke.