Tuesday, October 15, 2024 -France coach Didier Deschamps has reacted to a report claiming captain Kylian Mbappe is being investigated for r@pe in Sweden.
'Everyone is free to write what they want
but there is a negative atmosphere' around the French team, Deschamps told
reporters following his team's 2-1 win over Belgium in the UEFA Nations
League last night.
His comments came in response to
questions about Mbappe, the France skipper who was allowed to sit out the
team's games this month in order to work on his fitness.
After Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet
reported that an alleged r@pe had been reported to police but did not say who
was accused, another publication, Expressen, said 25-year-old Mbappe was the
suspect.
'Be careful when you pick things up,'
Deschamps warned.
'You had better take a bit of a step back
before publishing anything and everything, but these things happen so often,'
he said, appearing to cast doubt on the report.
Deschamps added: 'There are things
that are not difficult to verify, but if you credit any old thing...
In any case, I am not going to talk to him
about it. He is big enough to know how to communicate.'
The footballer was visiting Sweden
with friends from Wednesday to Friday last week, staying at the Bank Hotel in
the city centre.
On Thursday, the Real Madrid star visited
the Chez Jolie restaurant, before heading to the V nightclub and finally back
to his hotel in a black van with his entourage.
Aftonbladet reported that police were
investigating a rape at the central Stockholm hotel, which allegedly happened
Thursday night.
But Mbappe shared a newspaper article
on the alleged rape on X and wrote: 'Fake News! It's becoming so predictable,
just before the hearing as if by chance,' referring to a hearing as part of his
fight against his former club PSG over £46million in unpaid wages and bonuses
that is set to take place today.
Mbappe's entourage said in a
statement sent to AFP: 'Today, a new slanderous rumour is starting to spread
across the web from the Swedish media Aftonbladet.
'These accusations are completely false and
irresponsible, and their propagation is unacceptable.
'In order to put an end to this methodical
destruction of (the) image (of Kylian Mbappe), all necessary legal actions will
be taken to re-establish the truth and pursue any person or media involved in
the moral harassment and defamatory treatment that Kylian Mbappe is suffering
repeatedly,' the statement added.
A source close to Paris Saint-Germain told
AFP it would 'ignore' Mbappe's claim that there was a link between the report
in Sweden and his dispute with the club.
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