The police probe into a suspected prostitution ring at a Paris
nightspot has cast serious doubt as to whether France footballers
Franck Ribery and Karim Benzema will be called into the team's
World Cup squad.
Ribery has already testified, and Benzema is set to be
questioned over alleged sexual relations with an underage
prostitute operating out of a trendy Paris club.
With France coach Raymond Domenech set to name his squad in
about three weeks, the sex scandal could not have come at a worse
time for the beleaguered team. It follows a difficult qualifying
campaign, during which Ribery was one of the rare players to shine.
Domenech favors tranquility and seclusion at team camps
during major tournaments, but the headlines around Europe show no
signs of going away. At the World Cup in South Africa, the scrutiny
is likely to increase.
Domenech already had tense relations with Benzema -
reprimanding him for his attitude during a World Cup qualifier
against Romania last September - but has always been close to
Ribery.
Although the affair is only at the judicial inquiry stage and
no charges have been filed, the damage to their reputations could
be lasting.
Questioned by police, the prostitute reportedly said she had
sexual relations with Ribery when she was 17, and with Benzema when
she was 16, but told both players that she was an adult.
If Ribery and Benzema are charged, they would face up to
three years in prison and a €45,000 ($60,000) fine.
Prostitution is legal in France, but prostitutes must be over 18
years old, and clients are liable if they are not.
Ribery's lawyer said the footballer provided witness
testimony last week for investigators probing a suspected ring
operating out of a Champs-Elysees club called Cafe Zaman. Sophie
Bottai, Ribery's lawyer, said no charges were filed against her
client and he was not held in police custody.
A lawyer for France teammate Sidney Govou - the third player
linked to the affair- declined to say whether his client spoke to
investigators. Lawyer Thierry Braillard said Govou "never set foot
in" Cafe Zaman.
In April, 10 people were taken into custody in the
investigation, but none from the national team. Three members of
the suspected ring are currently being held for questioning.
French football federation president Jean-Pierre Escalettes
and sports minister Rama Yade have refused to comment on the
prostitution case.
The scandal comes just as the 27-year-old Ribery considers
whether or not to stay at Bayern Munich. He has been linked with
moves to Real Madrid, Barcelona and Chelsea, and was set to
announce his decision soon.
And Ribery's difficult week got even worse on Wednesday when
he was sent off for a crude lunge on Lyon striker Lisandro Lopez in
the first leg of the Champions League semifinals. He will miss the
return leg next week and possibly the final - if Bayern advances.
Ribery, who was badly disfigured in a car crash when he was a
toddler and has refused plastic surgery, rose from amateur-league
player with Brest to international star, capturing the hearts of
French football fans and the general public.
His ascension was spectacular, and by 2006 he was playing
well enough at Marseille for Domenech to pick him in France's team
for the World Cup. He has made 42 international appearances,
scoring seven goals, including strikes in both qualifiers against
Lithuania.
He was one of the few to escape the vitriol from French fans
during the 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign. While others were
jeered, he was liked.
Ribery, a Muslim convert who is married to a woman of
Algerian descent, was viewed as a modest person amid aloof and
unreachable football stars. And his zany humor - pretending to be a
dummy in a shop window and then surprising German shoppers by
screaming at them - ensured huge popularity.
His fall from grace will hurt French football fans at a time
when Ribery offered a rare ray of light amid the moribund
atmosphere and tiresome football produced by Domenech's team.
