PARIS – French police questioned soccer internationals Franck Ribery and Karim Benzema on Tuesday as part of an investigation into an alleged under-age prostitution ring, a legal source told AFP.
The footballers were detained at the request of an investigating magistrate probing allegations that a Champs Elysees nightclub provided clients access to minors working as call girls, the source close to the inquiry said.
One of the young women who is alleged to have met clients at the club had already testified to investigators earlier in the year that she had relations with the two players when she was still under age.
If they are charged and convicted of sollicting and paying for sex with a minor, the pair face three years in jail and a fine of 45,000 euros (58,000 dollars), but only if it is proved they knew she was under-age.
