Thursday, 30th January, 2014
Franck Ribery is looking forward to leading France with a clear mind again, according to his lawyer, after the underage-sex charges against him and Karim Benzema were dropped.
According to the Reuters news agency, the Paris Correctional Tribunal dropped the charges against the France duo, which alleged that they paid an underage prostitute for sex.
mobile ad
The charges date back to 2008 and 2009 when both Bayern Munich's Ribery and Real Madrid's Benzema were alleged to have paid Zahia Dehar, understood to be a minor then, for sex.
While paying for sex is not illegal in France soliciting sex from minors is, but the duo were acquitted owing to insufficient evidence, wherein they did not know Dehar was underage at the time.
relatedNewsStory
And Ribery's lawyer Carlo Alberto Brusa was quoted by AS as saying: "These have been four very hard years.
"This case has had catastrophic consequences. We are very happy to have finished well and Ribery can move on.
"It's very difficult to play good football when an indictment like this is hanging over you. Now [he can] look forward and try to lead France to win the World Cup."
Don't bet on football until you've visited Inside Bet! Interesting markets, top tips, betting facts – get all the info before you bet.
