A pair of new Zidanes rumoured to be named in police’s child hooker investigation
Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema and Marseille’s Hatem Ben Arfa are rumoured to be the next big-name French footballers to be quizzed by police in an underage prostitution scandal. Yesterday we told you Franck Ribery had spoken to officers about claims he paid a 17-year-old girl for sex. It is illegal to use prostitutes under the age of 18 in France.
Now, the French media are claiming that Benzema and Ben Arfa will also be called as witnesses in an investigation into an alleged pimp and a group of prostitutes operating out of the Zaman Cafe on the Champs-Elysees in Paris.
Both players have denied the reports linking them with the investigation. “It’s absolutely not me,” Ben Arfa told L’Equipe TV. Meanwhile, Benzema’s agent told LePost.fr: “Karim has not been questioned. He has nothing to do with this affair.”
Ribery is reported to have admitted paying the prostitute, but claims he thought she was 18. The judge will have to decide whether, having been interviewed as a witness, Ribery will face a formal investigation into his actions.
