Former France striker Wissam Ben Yedder has admitted to being an alcoholic amid an allegation that he performed a sexual act on a young woman in his car while drunk on whisky.
Ben Yedder is accused of taking the young woman, born in 2001, to an underground car park, trying to masturbate in front of her and touching her thigh, according to reports. RMC Sport.
The former Sevilla and Monaco striker, 34, is reportedly set to stand trial for sexual assault on October 15 after being arrested earlier this month in Cap d’Ail, near Nice.
His defense team insists that the accusation of touching the woman on the thigh “is not a serious matter.”
He was arrested in a “state of intoxication” between the night of Friday, September 6 and early Saturday morning.
Former France striker Wissam Ben Yedder has admitted to being an alcoholic after being accused of performing a sexual act on a young woman.
Ben Yedder, who last played for Monaco, will go on trial on October 15 for sexual assault.
Ben Yedder is banned from leaving the Alpes-Maritimes region, is under a curfew from 8pm to 6am, is not allowed to go to bars or clubs and must not approach his alleged victim. He must also report to the police station twice a week until his trial.
The Nice prosecutor’s office and the attorney general wanted Ben Yedder to remain in custody until his trial, but an investigative chamber decided that he should remain in custody. free from judicial supervision until then.
When he appeared before the court on Tuesday 17 September, the summary of facts stated that he was drunk with a “bottle of whisky and Coca-Cola” in his car while a small group of youths stood nearby.
One of the girls said that Ben Yedder kept looking at her and drove her and a young man to the underground location in his car.
According to the young woman, after the man left, Ben Yedder allegedly “attempted to masturbate in front of her” and touched her before she managed to escape and hide behind a dumpster.
Finally, the young woman says, she managed to reach her friends’ house, took refuge in a relative’s house and filed a complaint with the police.
Two other witnesses also described Ben Yedder as displaying “aggressive and drunk” behaviour, although they were not present after he left with the young woman.
“You feel all-powerful because you’re a football player,” the attorney general told the hearing. “You can get away with anything. Still, you’re in a rather sad situation when you find yourself in a beach car park, alone on a Friday night.
He is currently without a club. The 34-year-old’s defence team rejects the allegation that he touched the girl’s thigh while drunk in his car as “not a serious matter”.
Ben Yedder will not be under judicial supervision until his trial, but he is banned from traveling and is under curfew.
‘You just go in a car with a bottle of whiskey. The young people recognize you and then you go shopping with the girls, ‘look, is this free or not?’
Ben Yedder has reportedly attended Alcoholics Anonymous and has admitted that he “hopes to be cured of the situation.”
“I’m making an effort,” said the former French international. “Stopping for good is the best solution to recover. I have always denounced it and I have always been there when justice has called my attention.”
She has also seen a “specialist psychologist.”
His defence lawyer insisted: “The fact that he allegedly placed his hand on the complainant’s thigh is not actually a serious matter.”
The lawyer added that he is “fully integrated in France” and that it is “first time in his life in terms of sex.”
“He is one of the top scorers in Ligue 1. He was in negotiations with several clubs, including a French club before tonight,” he said.
Attorney General believes Ben Yedder thinks he can “get away with it”
Ben Yedder last played international football in June 2022.
During spells at Toulouse, Sevilla and Monaco, the currently clubless striker has scored 259 goals in 513 games.