(Image via apnews.com)
Staff Writer: Akshit Bagga
Email: abagga@umassd.edu
Star French soccer player Kylian Mbappé is accused of sexually assaulting a woman during his recent visit to the Swedish city of Stockholm.
Swedish police authorities have registered a sexual assault case in Stockholm for a rape incident that happened on October 10th. While his name wasn’t mentioned directly, media reports have confirmed that the French national team captain Mbappé is being accused and has been categorized as “reasonably suspected” for the crime.
As per Swedish law, being “reasonably suspected” is considered low suspicion and opens a direct investigation against the person in question. Authorities can investigate or question the person.
Mbappé did not play any international matches during the second week of October. The French national was in Sweden’s capital and was spotted leaving a nightclub. As per Senior Prosecutor Marina Chirakova, the criminal report that was filed by the Swedish police is of rape committed on October 10th at a hotel in central Stockholm.
Mbappé’s PR team responded to these reports and accused the Swedish media of spreading rumors. In a statement to AP News, they said, “These accusations are totally false and irresponsible, and their propagation is unacceptable.” They added that “Kylian Mbappé will, under no, circumstances tolerate his integrity, reputation, and honor being sullied by unfounded insinuations.”
No information was available about the victim.
One of Mbappé’s lawyers, Marie-Alix Canu-Bernard, said, “Kylian Mbappé is never alone. He is never put in a position where he ends up in a situation that would lead to him taking a risk.” She added, “As a result, that totally rules out any possibility of reprehensible actions on his part. I can tell you that with absolutely certainty.”
Reacting to these reports, Mbappé took to X and posted in French, “FAKE NEWS!!!! It’s becoming so predictable, on the eve of the hearing, as if by chance”. The post indicated that these allegations might have a relation to his ongoing feud with his previous Ligue 1 club.
Mbappé played for the French league club Paris Saint Germain from 2017 until the summer of this year. Every summer, there were rumors of his transfer from the club, but it was this year, during the transfer season, that he finally signed a five-year deal in the free transfer window with the Spanish club Real Madrid and started playing in La Liga.
While PSG and Mbappé ended their association, it wasn’t on a good note. The Paris-based club owes Mbappé approximately €55 million ($60 million) in unpaid wages and expenses. This led to Mbappé filing a lawsuit against his former employer.
During the last month, the court ruled in favor of Mbappé; however, the Ligue 1 club refused to pay the amount and is looking to appeal the decision.
As per reports, if the club doesn’t pay their dues, they could face potential sanctions, such as a license suspension that could prevent them from participating in European leagues and competitions. A theory suggests that Mbappé believes that this sexual assault is an attempt to tarnish his reputation.
According to Daily Sports, PSG’s President Nasser Al-Khelaifi has ties with media houses spreading this information.
While his current club, Real Madrid, has not commented on the incident, they chose to drop their star forward position campaigner from a promotional image for their sponsor Adidas.
Sweden can easily pursue legal actions against Mbappé since he is a French citizen and an EU national who lives in Spain. This isn’t the first time a soccer player has been accused of sexual assault charges. Some big names were previously accused of domestic and sexual violence charges. They either had an out-of-court settlement or weren’t convicted.