Former France striker Wissam Ben Yedder has admitted to being an alcoholic amid an allegation he performed a sex act in front of a young woman in his car while drunk on whisky.
Ben Yedder is accused of driving the young woman, born in 2001, to an underground car park, attempting to masturbate in front of her, and touching her thigh, as reported by RMC Sport.
The ex-Sevilla and Monaco striker, 34, is reportedly set to go on trial for sexual assault on October 15 after being arrested earlier this month in Cap d’Ail, near Nice.
His defence insists that the allegation of touching the woman on the thigh is ‘not a serious fact’.
He was arrested in a ‘state of intoxication’ between the night of Friday September 6 and the early hours of the Saturday morning.
Former France striker Wissam Ben Yedder has admitted to being an alcoholic amid being accused of performing a sex act in front of a young woman
Ben Yedder, who last played for Monaco, is set to go on trial on October 15 for sexual assault
Ben Yedder is banned from leaving the Alpes-Maritimes region, is under curfew from 8pm to 6am, cannot go to any bars or clubs, and must not approach his alleged victim. He also has to report to a police station twice per week until his trial.
Nice’s public prosecution office and the attorney general wanted Ben Yedder to be detained until his trial, however, an investigating chamber has decided he should remain free from judicial supervision until then.
As he appeared before an investigating chamber on Tuesday September 17, the summary of events claimed he was drunk with a ‘bottle of whisky and coke’ in his car while a small group of young people were nearby.
One of the young women claimed that Ben Yedder kept looking at her and took her, along with a young male, for a ride in his car to the underground location.
According to the young woman, after the male had left, Ben Yedder allegedly ‘tried to masturbate in front of her’ and touched her before she managed to escape and hide behind a bin.
Eventually, the young woman recounts, she made it to her friends and took sanctuary in a family member’s house and filed a complaint with the police.
Two other witnesses also describe Ben Yedder exhibiting ‘aggressive and drunken’ behaviour, though they were not present after he had driven off with the young woman.
‘You feel all-powerful because you’re a football player,’ the attorney general said at the hearing. ‘You can get away with anything. You still find yourself in a somewhat sad situation for you, when you find yourself in a beach car park, alone on a Friday night.
He is currently without a club. The 34-year-old’s defence dismisses the claim he touched the young woman’s thigh while drunk in his car as ‘not a serious fact’
Ben Yedder will not be under judicial supervision until his trial but is banned from travelling and is under curfew
‘So alone that you’re in a car with a bottle of whisky. The young people recognise you and then you do a bit of a shopping with (looking at) the girls, “look, is this one free or not”.’
Ben Yedder has reportedly attended Alcoholics Anonymous and admitted that he ‘hopes to cure himself of the situation’.
‘I’m making an effort,’ said the former French international. ‘To stop for good is the best solution to cure myself. I’ve always pointed out and I’ve always been there when justice called on me.’
He has also seen a ‘specialist psychologist’.
His defence lawyer has insisted: ‘The fact that he allegedly put his hand on the complainant’s thigh, in reality these are not serious facts.’
The lawyer added that he is ‘totally integrated in France’ and that he is a ‘first-time offender in sexual affairs’.
‘He is one of the top scorers in Ligue 1. He was in negotiations with several clubs, including a French club before this evening,’ they said.
The attorney general believes Ben Yedder thinks he can ‘can get away with anything’
Ben Yedder last played international football in June 2022.
Across stints with Toulouse, Sevilla, and Monaco, the currently club-less forward has scored 259 goals in 513 games.