French footballer Ben Yedder on trial for sexual assault

Former France international football player Wissam Ben Yedder went on trial Tuesday in the southern French city of Nice, charged with sexually assaulting a woman last month.

Ben Yedder, 34, the former captain of French Ligue 1 side AS Monaco and its second-biggest goalscoarer ever, is currently without a club and battling alcoholism.

On the evening of September 6, Ben Yedder met a woman during an inebriated outing and invited her into his car, according to the investigation.

There, the woman told police, he performed a sex act in front of her.

The woman immediately filed a complaint with police, who arrested Ben Yedder later that night.

“Mr Ben Yedder is remorseful for being the cause of such a situation,” said his lawyers, Hasna Louze and Marie Roumiantseva. Their client is “sincerely sorry for the plaintiff” and “will take reponsibility for his actions”, they said.

The French-born player who holds French and Tunisian passports has been under strict police control awaiting trial but not in detention. The charges against him carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in jail.

Ben Yedder is also the defendant in another case going to trial in December in which he is charged with psychological violence against his wife. The couple is in the process of divorcing.

Ben Yedder is also accused by another woman of raping her in the summer of 2023. Police are still investigating that claim.

He has denied both accusations.

Ben Yedder started his professional career in Toulouse, France, before moving to FC Sevilla.

A Spanish court in 2023 found him guilty of tax fraud while he was living in the country, and gave him a six-month suspended sentence.

He arrived at Monaco in 2019 where he scored 118 goals in 201 matches, but his contract was not extended when it expired this year.

He scored three times for the French national team in 19 matches.