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| French court drops Ribery and Benzema prostitution case | French court drops Ribery and Benzema prostitution case |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A French court has dropped charges of sex with an underage prostitute against footballers Franck Ribery and Karim Benzema. | A French court has dropped charges of sex with an underage prostitute against footballers Franck Ribery and Karim Benzema. |
| The judge ruled there was insufficient proof the men were aware that Zahia Dehar was a minor at the time the alleged offences took place. | The judge ruled there was insufficient proof the men were aware that Zahia Dehar was a minor at the time the alleged offences took place. |
| The two footballers, who denied the charges, had faced up to three years in prison if convicted. | The two footballers, who denied the charges, had faced up to three years in prison if convicted. |
| Neither player, nor Ms Dehar, appeared at the early stages of the trial. | Neither player, nor Ms Dehar, appeared at the early stages of the trial. |
| Ms Dehar, 21, told investigators that Mr Ribery had flown her to Munich as a birthday present to himself in 2009, when she was still 17, though she insists she lied about her age. | Ms Dehar, 21, told investigators that Mr Ribery had flown her to Munich as a birthday present to himself in 2009, when she was still 17, though she insists she lied about her age. |
| Karim Benzema is alleged to have met Ms Dehar in 2008 in a Champs Elysee nightclub and to have taken her back to his hotel where he paid to sleep with her. He denies there was any encounter. | |
| The prosecutors believed there was no case to answer - it was the investigating magistrates that were pushing the case, reports the BBC's Christian Fraser in Paris. | The prosecutors believed there was no case to answer - it was the investigating magistrates that were pushing the case, reports the BBC's Christian Fraser in Paris. |
| Mr Ribery's lawyer, Carlo Alberto Brusa, said he was "very happy with the verdict". | |
| "We fought for him to be cleared without any stain [on his name]. This acquittal is the end of a sad story." | |
| Mr Benzema's lawyer, Sylvain Cormier, said he "could feel all the weight coming off". He said the case had been "morally very trying" and described the decision as "the end of a nightmare" for his client. | |
| The court also dropped the case against Mr Ribery's brother-in-law for soliciting a minor for sex, but handed down sentences - from three months suspended, to one year plus an extra year suspended - to five others for "aggravated pimping". | |
| Franck Ribery plays for German team Bayern Munich, and Karim Benzema for Spain's Real Madrid. Both men also play for the French national side. | |
| The age of consent is 15 in France, but paying for sex with anyone under 18 is a crime. | The age of consent is 15 in France, but paying for sex with anyone under 18 is a crime. |
| Ms Dehar became a celebrity following the scandal and has since established herself as a designer of luxury lingerie, thanks partly to being befriended and promoted by fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld. | Ms Dehar became a celebrity following the scandal and has since established herself as a designer of luxury lingerie, thanks partly to being befriended and promoted by fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld. |
| Despite the trial Mr Ribery arguably had the best season of his career in 2012-13, helping Bayern win the German Bundesliga and European Champions League. | |
| He finished third in the recent Ballon d'Or vote for Europe's best footballer, behind Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. | |
| Last weekend, Benzema scored his 100th club goal for Madrid. |