Abidals to be quizzed over PSG player attack

NANTERRE (France) • Kheira Hamraoui, the Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) women's footballer who had her legs beaten in a mysterious street attack, appealed on Tuesday to the media to respect her privacy amid speculation about her ties to former French international Eric Abidal.

The assault on her took place while she was being driven home by teammate Aminata Diallo, 26, on Nov 4 in Paris. The car was stopped by masked men who dragged the players from the vehicle and beat Hamraoui's legs with a metal bar while restraining fellow midfielder Diallo. Hamraoui, 31, required stitches and missed her next PSG game.

After an initial flurry of speculation about her sporting rivalry with Diallo, who was unharmed and was held for questioning for nearly 35 hours before being released without charge, the focus shifted to Abidal after the investigation revealed links between the former Barcelona star and Hamraoui.

Abidal served as Barcelona's sporting director from 2018 to last year, during which Hamraoui was with the women's team.

In a statement, her lawyer said the player "demands that her private life be immediately respected, along with her right to remain silent about this difficult episode".

The statement added that the attack pointed to an "unconcealed desire to damage her (Hamraoui's) professional career" and that she had suffered "significant physical and psychological harm".

The links to Abidal came up when she was found to be using a telephone SIM card registered in the 42-year-old's name on the night of the attack. A source close to the inquiry said she had told the police the SIM card was "in her ex's name".

On Monday, the Versailles prosecutors' office, which is leading the investigation, said investigators could soon question Abidal and his wife Hayet, while saying it was "just one lead among many".

French daily L'Equipe reported that all the information being received by police pointed to a love triangle between the Abidals and Hamraoui, in which the alleged plot to injure the latter was one out of revenge by Hayet for Hamraoui sleeping with her husband.

Le Monde also said that Hayet had apparently threatened Hamraoui in the past, according to testimony from Diallo.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE