As part of the investigation into a brutal attack on one of her colleagues by masked individuals carrying a metal bar in December of last year, an ex-player for the Paris St. Germain women’s soccer club was charged with aggravated assault on Friday. The incident occurred as part of the inquiry.
Early on Friday morning, the player, Aminata Diallo, was brought into jail by law enforcement. Later that day, she was accused in connection with an incident that the prosecution in the case described as a premeditated and planned assault on her PSG colleague Kheira Hamraoui at the time of the incident. According to the statement released by the prosecutor, Diallo has been detained in an administrative capacity while the investigating judge and the prosecutor continue their discussions. The prosecution has requested that she be held in pretrial custody, which indicates that she will continue to be incarcerated as she waits for more developments in the case.
Last year’s assault on Hamraoui made headlines in France and worldwide due to the ferocity of the attack as well as the following incarceration of Diallo, who was responsible for the crime. Reports of marital infidelity and unsubstantiated reports that a battle for playing time had factored in the attack have led filmmakers to approach both women about collaborating on projects. The cinematic story line includes masked men wielding a metal bar on a dark street, reports of marital infidelity, and unsubstantiated reports that a battle for playing time had factored in the attack.
But the event also wreaked havoc on the PSG squad as well as the French national team, on which both women had played, and it was also responsible for the dissolution of the marriage of a well-known former player for the French men’s team named Eric Abidal. The previous year, Abidal’s wife, Hayet Abidal, initiated the divorce proceedings, citing her husband’s admission of having an extramarital affair with Hamraoui as the reason for her decision.
According to the prosecution, three of the guys confessed to being at the scene, and one of the men admitted to hitting Hamraoui. According to the statement made by the prosecution, all four men accused Diallo in preparing the assault on her instructions, and they maintained that the scheme was an attempt to usurp Hamraoui’s position on the PSG squad.
These particulars have remarkable parallels to the infamous assault that was committed in 1994 on the figure skater Nancy Kerrigan, who competed in the Olympics. At that year’s United States championships, Kerrigan was assaulted in a scheme that was coordinated by the ex-husband of a competitor named Tonya Harding, who was also a skater. A guy attacked Kerrigan after a practise session by striking her many times in the legs with a police baton. The attack occurred after the training had concluded.
Diallo has maintained her innocence from the very beginning, and she was freed without charges after being detained for a total of 36 hours during her initial incarceration a year ago. On Friday, neither she nor her attorney made any public statements about the situation.
Following a team meal in November of 2016, at an elite restaurant located in a park on the outskirts of Paris, Hamraoui was attacked shortly afterward. Diallo had extended an offer to give Hamraoui a ride home; however, their journey was cut short when two individuals appeared in front of the club-issued car that Diallo was driving, opened the passenger door, and dragged Hamraoui out of the vehicle. This occurred after Diallo had dropped off a third teammate at her residence. After thereafter, one of the guys started striking Hamraoui with a metal rod, concentrating their blows on her legs and left her with cuts and bruises as a result. During the assault, Diallo said to the authorities that another guy had held her to the steering wheel so that she could not move.
A week after the assault, Diallo was taken into jail, and she remained there for a period of three days and nights. At the time, the office of the prosecutor in Versailles acknowledged that a friend of Diallo’s, a guy in Lyon who had been imprisoned on charges unrelated to the investigation, had been questioned and subsequently freed from custody.
Both ladies have had significant setbacks in their careers as a result of the event. Diallo, who is 27 years old, decided to end her career as a professional soccer player this summer after her contract with PSG ended. Hamraoui, who is 32 years old and still has a contract with PSG, is engaged in a disagreement with the club over her treatment, which stems from the fact that the team’s current administration has not chosen her to play on the roster.
Both of these players were not selected to represent France in the European Women’s Championship, which was held in England this past summer.
On Friday, a request for comment was sent to Diallo’s attorney, Mourad Battikh, but he did not respond. However, earlier this week, when many individuals were detained in connection with the assault, Battikh had said that there was no relation between them and Diallo. This came following the arrest of numerous guys in connection with the crime.
