PARIS (AFP) - French police detained Paris Saint-Germain footballer Serge Aurier on Monday, after he hit an officer outside a nightclub, police sources said.

The 23-year-old Ivory Coast international, who has been regularly in trouble with his Ligue 1 champions club, is alleged to have "insulted and hit a police officer", one source told AFP.

PSG confirmed that the defender is in custody but made no other comment.

Aurier "elbowed" the policeman in the throat, according to a legal source. He has been held at a police station near the Champs Elysee for "deliberate violence against a person of public authority", the source added.

PSG briefly suspended Aurier in February after he appeared in a video insulting club coach Laurent Blanc. He later admitted he had carried out a "stupid mistake" and apologised.