Makelele cleared of assault of former girlfriend

VERSAILLES, France (AFP) - Former Real Madrid and Chelsea star Claude Makelele was cleared by a French court on Thursday of assaulting his British ex-girlfriend.

Thandi Ojeer, an events organiser who had a two-year-relationship with the midfielder, had accused him of punching her in the face during a dispute at the home they once shared in the Paris suburbs.

Prosecutors had asked for the former France international to be given a five-month suspended prison sentence.

But a judge on Thursday dismissed Ojeer's case and her claim for 90,000 euros (S$142,740) compensation and ordered her to pay 2,000 euros for bringing an unsubstantiated civil claim to court.