Update: Frank Ribery and Karim Benzema now charged in prostitution scandal

Franck Ribery held over underage prostitution ring
Karim Benzema and Franck Ribery
French international and colleague Benzema called for questioning in Paris
By Bill Mann
LAST UPDATED 1:23 PM, JULY 20, 2010
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Franck Ribery, the French football international who has admitted having sex with a 17-year-old prostitute, is being detained and questioned by police investigating an underage prostitution ring. He could be held for up to 48 hours while police decide if he should face charges.

Ribery's international team-mate Karim Benzema (above left), a transfer target for Manchester United, was also summoned to the Paris vice squad headquarters this morning. Ribery (above right) made his way, grim-faced, past banks of photographers and reporters to enter the headquarters of France's BRP vice squad on the Ile de la Cite this morning.

The players were summoned at the request of a magistrate investigating claims that a nightclub on the Champs Elysee in central Paris provided its clients with access to underage call girls, a source in the judicial services told the AFP news agency.

It's the latest chapter of a scandal which has gripped France and, as the Parisienne newspaper puts it today "bousculé la planète foot" (shaken up planet football). Ribery is not just another player: one of international football's most gifted wingers, he is generally considered France's greatest footballer.

In April, it emerged that one of the women working at the club, Zahia Dehar, had had paid sex with the two men. She told the press she was just 17 at the time: in France the age of consent is 15, but prostitution is illegal for women younger than 18.

Ribery has admitted sleeping with Dehar, but says he did not know her age at the time. She seemed to support this claim when she said she had not told him her age at any stage.

Police raided the Zaman Café nightclub earlier this year and arrested 18 women on suspicion of prostitution. Dehar was not among their number.

As The First Post reported at the time, Ribery's wife, the French-Algerian Wahiba (for whom he converted to Islam when they married in 2002) vowed to stand by her man, despite the humiliation. She said: "It hurt my family, above all those close to me."

Similarly forgiving were various French public figures who fulfilled their reputation for a laissez-faire attitude to sexual misdemeanours. Alain Souchon, one of the country's most famous entertainers, said: "Every man in his life is going to visit a whore one time, that's how it is."

Read more: http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/66097,people,news,franck-ribery-and-karim-benzema-detained-over-underage-prostitution-ring#ixzz0uEJolB2E

I did not know that every man needs a prostitute at some time

 

Re: Frank Ribery and Karim Benzema questioned again over underage prostitutes

Updated: July 20, 2010, 4:10 PM ET
Ribery, Benzema charged in scandal

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Associated Press

PARIS -- A French judge issued preliminary charges Tuesday against soccer stars Franck Ribery and Karim Benzema for soliciting an underage prostitute -- the latest setback for a national team that returned from the World Cup in disgrace and disarray.

Ribery and Benzema were questioned Tuesday as part of a probe into a suspected network of prostitutes that operated out of a nightclub on Paris' glitzy Champs-Elysees, a judicial official told The Associated Press. She was not authorized to be publicly named, according to office policy.

The scandal, which broke before the World Cup began June 11 and has been front-page news in France, includes allegations by a self-described escort girl who says Ribery flew her to visit him as a birthday present for himself when she was still under 18. Ribery is married with two children.

Real Madrid striker Benzema and Bayern Munich forward Ribery could face up to three years in prison and a $60,000 fine if found guilty of paying to have sex with a minor. They are among the most famous soccer players in France.

Both have denied any wrongdoing.

The sex scandal further tarnishes the French team's image, already laid low by the players' strike during a practice at the World Cup, a player's expletive-laced tirade at the coach, and embarrassing performances on the field.

Zahia Dehar, now 18, has told French media that several players on France's national team paid to have sex with her when she was a minor -- although she says they were not aware she was underage.

Ribery and Benzema were released after French investigating magistrate Andre Dando handed them preliminary charges, which give officials time to pursue a probe before deciding whether to send suspects for trial or drop the case.

The judicial official said preliminary charges also were issued against one of Ribery's relatives, but the person's identity was not immediately clear. A player agent was questioned and released with no charges filed.

Prostitution is legal in France, but prostitutes must be over 18 years old, and clients are liable if they are not.

Ribery's lawyer, Sophie Bottai, said for the player to be convicted, he "would have had to know her age, which wasn't the case."

"She would have had to look like a minor, which wasn't the case, she would have to have told him she was a minor, which wasn't the case," Bottai said.

Benzema's lawyer, Sylvain Cormier, did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Dehar says she had been paid for sex since age 16, when she began partying in Paris. She claimed she met Benzema at a nightclub and he bought her services, and alleged that Lyon and France forward Sidney Govou had, too.

She told Paris Match magazine that Ribery flew her to a hotel in Germany for the night as a birthday present for himself. The platinum blonde also posed for the magazine's cover wearing a baby-doll dress with a plunging neckline and high heels.

Amid the scandal, Ribery, 27, was called up for the World Cup in South Africa, where France didn't progress past the first round following a string of below-par performances. Benzema was left off the team, with then-coach Raymond Domenech saying it was because of his unimpressive season.

The 22-year-old Benzema was often left on the French bench this season and scored only eight goals in the Spanish league after costing Madrid $44.4 million in 2009.

Ribery started his international career just before the 2006 World Cup, when France lost to Italy in the final, and quickly became a fan favorite. Sporting two long scars on his face, relics of a car accident when he was 2, Ribery was praised for his good humor and darting skills.

However, he failed to live up to expectations in South Africa, leading some to question whether the sex scandal had hurt his focus on the game.

"Somebody has to tell him that he should leave his personal problems in the locker room," former Marseille coach Rolland Courbis said.

His wife, Wahiba, often is seen in stands. Ribery converted to Islam, his wife's faith, and often prays before entering the field.

Benzema -- born in Lyon to parents of Algerian descent -- has always been discreet about his private life.

At the World Cup in South Africa, France left its second consecutive tournament without winning a game, adding to a first-round exit from Euro 2008.

The French team endured days of chaos after L'Equipe newspaper published details of an expletive-filled rant by Nicolas Anelka at Domenech during one match, prompting the French federation to send the Chelsea star home.

The next day, the entire squad sat on the team bus, refusing to train in protest at Anelka's dismissal. France captain Patrice Evra had a lively altercation with the team's fitness coach on TV.

The events caused an outcry in France, with politicians harshly criticizing the players' attitude, legislators in parliament questioning the coach and President Nicolas Sarkozy weighing in.