Franck Ribery has spoken for the first time about his affair with underage prostitute Zahia Dehar, declaring that the publicity it caused ‘hurt my family’.
The 27-year-old French football star is facing up to three years in prison and a £40,000 fine for sleeping with the then 17-year-old Miss Dehar.
But after winning the German championship with his club side Bayern Munich on Saturday night, Ribery told French TV station TF1 that his only concern now was wife Wahiba and their two children.
Childhood sweetheart: Franck Ribery converted to Islam to marry Wahiba Belhami and, so far, she has stood by him during the $ex scandal
Referring to the $ex scandal, Ribery said: ‘It hurt my family, above all those close to me. That’s all I want to say.’
Miss Dehar has told vice squad officers how she had £1,500-a-night $ with at least three France players, also including Sidney Govou, 30, and Karim Benzema, 22.
Ribery became one of her regular customers after meeting her in Paris nightclub Café Zaman, and last year flew her to a hotel in Munich to celebrate his 26th birthday.
'Lovely little present': Zahia Dehar, now 18, has told vice squad officers that Ribery flew her to Munich to celebrate his 26th birthday when she was 17
Miss Dehar, who was 17 at the time, told Paris Match magazine: ‘He made reservations at a luxury hotel in Munich. We had $ex and he paid me. I was a lovely little present, wasn't I?'
But she insisted that Ribery thought she was 18 - the legal age at which a woman can start working as a prostitute in France.
Paris judge Andre Dando is currently considering whether charges should be brought in the case.
Tell-all: Dehar's granted an explosive interview with Paris Match magazine
A judicial source said: ‘Ribery has admitted having $ex relationship with the girl over several months, but denies knowing she was underage.
‘This could seriously damage his career, and the same applies to the other players if they are found to have been knowingly sleeping with an underage prostitute.’
The owner of the Café Zaman, a barman and two other workers have all now been charged with aggravated pimping, and 20 women have been questioned.
Ribery converted to Islam so as to marry Wahiba, his childhood sweetheart. She has so far been standing by him.
Lawyers for Ribery, Govou and Benzema all deny any wrongdoing.
France's junior sports minister, Rama Yade, said last week that if an official investigation finds any of the players guilty then they should be kicked out of the France team.
‘The jersey of the French national team is sacred,’ she said.
Miss Dehar, meanwhile, is contemplating numerous commercial offers, including the chance to appear in a footballers’ wives reality TV show, and a porn movie.
source::dailymail.co.uk
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