Ex-teammate charged over attack on French football star

VERSAILLES, France: A former France and Paris Saint-Germain player was placed in pre-trial detention Friday, charged with aggravated violence and “criminal association” over an attack on teammate Kheira Hamraoui last November, prosecutors said. Aminata Diallo, 27, was detained Friday evening at the behest of the prosecutor’s office in Versailles, near Paris, after police arrested her and took her into custody. Four other suspects, men allegedly involved in the attack, have also been charged over the attack last November on Hamraoui, 32.

Two of them have been charged with aggravated violence. “While in custody the men suspected of participating in the attack said someone had explained to them they had to prevent Hamraoui from playing,” a judicial source told AFP. Hamraoui, who has 39 caps for her country, had only returned to PSG months before the attack after a successful spell with Barcelona, where she won three titles and the Champions League last year.

Investigators suspect the motive for the attack on her was professional rivalry as Diallo was competing with the veteran for a midfield starting spot. Diallo denies any involvement with the attack. Her lawyer Mourad Battikh was unavailable for comment Friday evening.

A source close to the inquiry said Diallo “did not say much” during Friday questioning, adding that “she did not recognize participation (in the attack) before swiftly invoking her right to silence.” Of the four men under investigation, one aged 19 and the others in their early 20s, one was released from custody but remains under investigation. Diallo, first detained in the wake of the attack, was arrested for the second time following the detention of the four men earlier in the week. A judicial source