Man City claim Benjamin Mendy was essentially 'demanding to be locked up', tribunal hears

Benjamin Mendy's "reckless behaviour" meant he was essentially "demanding to be locked up" before he was first remanded into custody for sex offences, Manchester City have told an employment tribunal.

However, Mr Mendy's lawyers have accused the club of launching an "attack on his character" and a "re-trial of his private life" as he sues the club for docking his wages. And they say club bosses were "stringing him along" until his contract expired.

The former Blues defender Mr Mendy is claiming the club made over £11 million in "unauthorised deductions" from his pay whilst he was accused of rape, attempted rape, and sexual assault. He was later found not guilty of all the charges.

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A hearing before an employment judge in Manchester, in which Mr Mendy has claimed his £500k a month wages were unlawfully docked concluded this afternoon (Tuesday).

He says his wages were stopped for 22 months between September 2021, the month after he was first charged and remanded, and June 2023, when his contract expired.

The tribunal has been told that after being charged Mr Mendy was made subject to an interim suspension order by the Football Association (FA) which prevented him from doing "any football-related activity" and that that remained in place when he left the club in June last year.

He spent four months on remand from August 2021 to January 2022, and then a further 19 days from December 2022 to January 2023 due to a breach of his bail.

Summarising City's case, Sean Jones KC, representing the club, said Mr Mendy's was an