Ribery and Benzema on trial on underage prostitute charges in Paris

French international footballers Franck Ribery and Karim Benzema will face trial for soliciting sexual relationships with a minor, which prosecutors say occurred when they had paid-for sex in 2008 and 2009 with an under-age prostitute who has since become a household name.

Ribery and Benzema, who play for Bayern Munich and Real Madrid respectively, have strenuously denied any wrongdoing. A prosecutor had initially requested the charges been dropped, but was overruled by a senior judicial official, who has ordered a trial.



The woman, known as ‘Zahia’ has become a minor celebrity in France, where she has launched her own lingerie brand. Now 23, she told the soccer players she was an adult at the time of the alleged offences, investigators say. Prostitution is legal in France so long as both parties to the transaction are over 18.



Lawyer Carlo-Alberto Brusa, who is acting for Ribery, said his client was looking forward to the truth being told in court.





The prosecution is expected to allege that Ribery had sex with Zahia in 2009 in Munich and on the outskirts of Paris, paying 700 euros for the first encounter but nothing for the second.

The Bayern Munich player has admitted having had sex with Zahia, but says he neither paid her, nor was aware of her real age.

Brusa said he would try and get the case thrown out from the get-go, arguing that Ribery could not be tried for failing to guess the correct age of his partner.

What is certain is that Ribery will not attend the hearings himself.





Benzema is suspected of having given Zahia 500 euros in May 2008, after having a sexual relationship in a Paris hotel and strongly denies any relationship with Zahia, who was 16 at the time.

If convicted, both Ribery and Benzema face up to three years in prison and a 45,000 euro fine.