Appeal court drops rape trial for ex-France striker Ben Yedder

A French appeal court on Thursday overturned the decision to send former France striker Wissam Ben Yedder to trial on rape charges, citing a lack of evidence, judicial sources told AFP.

Last year, the public prosecutor’s office in Nice, southeastern France, decided the 35-year-old would stand trial for rape, attempted rape and sexual assault.

But the Aix‑en‑Provence appeals court ruled there was “no basis for prosecuting him,” the source said.

“We are very satisfied with the decision. My client has always maintained his innocence,” his lawyer Sophia Kerbaa told AFP.

Ben Yedder, who signed in January with Moroccan club Wydad Casablanca, and his brother Sabri were placed under formal investigation in 2023 after accusations made by two teenage women they had met at a party.

Both men had been ordered to stand trial last year.

The former Monaco and Sevilla forward has made more headlines in court than on the pitch in recent years.

In September, he was fined 90,000 euros ($106,000) by the Nice criminal court for psychological abuse of his wife, from whom he is currently in the process of divorcing.

He was also convicted in Spain in 2023 for tax fraud during his time at Sevilla and received a two-year suspended sentence in France in 2024 for sexual violence in a separate case, which he has appealed.

After leaving Monaco in 2024, Ben Yedder had short playing stints in Iran and Turkey before joining Wydad.

The ruling comes as other high-profile footballers, including PSG’s Achraf Hakimi and former Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey, face separate rape-related proceedings in France and England.