French internationals Franck Ribery and Karim Benzema have been caught up in a sex scandal and have been placed under judicial investigation on suspicion of soliciting sex with an under-age prostitute.
Police had been investigating a prostitution ring and the players were among those detained. If convicted both players could receive the maximum penalty of three years imprisonment. Until the case goes to trial Franck Ribery and Karim Benzema have been released from custody pending further investigation.
"One has to ask whether he is not being made to pay for France's World Cup failure," exhorted Ribery's lawyer, Sophie Bottai in an attempt to gain the player some sympathy votes even though saying this is likely to infuriate the French public, already fed up to the back teeth with a team (and so its players) which represented their nation so dimally in South Africa.
In an interview with
Paris Match the girl in question, who is called Zahia Dehar and is now aged 18 said, "I was Ribery's birthday present."
"Franck approached me in a Paris club. He booked me and flew me to Munich to celebrate his 26th birthday.
"He made reservations at a luxury hotel in Munich. We had sex and he paid me. I was a lovely little present, wasn't I?" Miss Dehar had pleaded with French coach Raymond Domenech not to drop the winger from France's World Cup squad, saying he had been unaware of her age.
