Kylian Mbappe ‘investigated for rape’ in Sweden: Reports
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The Bank Hotel on Arsenalsgatan street in Stockholm, Sweden. A Swedish newspaper claims that Mbappe is being investigated by the Swedish police for an alleged rape at the hotel.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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PARIS – Kylian Mbappe is being investigated for rape by Swedish police, according to media reports in Sweden following a visit by the Real Madrid star to Stockholm, which the player denounced as “fake news”.
Swedish newspapers Aftonbladet and Expressen and public broadcaster SVT reported that the 25-year-old Mbappe was the target of the investigation.
Expressen on Oct 14 identified Mbappe as the suspect, citing anonymous sources, while Aftonbladet and SVT said the next day they had also obtained information confirming the player was implicated.
Expressen said Mbappe was “reasonably suspected” of rape and sexual assault, the lower of two grades of suspicion in the Swedish legal system.
Mbappe’s entourage, when contacted by AFP, said it had no knowledge of a legal complaint made against him.
The French international was not selected for his country’s latest round of Nations League matches to work on his fitness, so he visited the Swedish capital with a group of people on Oct 10.
They reportedly dined at a restaurant before going to a nightclub. Mbappe and the group left Sweden the next day.
Aftonbladet first reported on Oct 14 that a rape was committed “in Stockholm city centre”, citing a formal complaint made to police on Oct 12 that it had seen.
It added that the complaint was filed after the alleged victim had sought medical attention but did not say who was named in the accusation.
Mbappe himself claimed in a post on X that there was a link between the Aftonbladet report and his hearing before a French league committee on Oct 15 in his bitter dispute with former club Paris Saint-Germain over what he says are unpaid wages.
“FAKE NEWS !!!! It’s becoming so predictable, on the eve of the hearing, as if by chance,” he posted.
On Oct 15, Sweden’s Prosecution Authority confirmed a rape investigation, without naming a suspect, adding that the alleged incident occurred at a hotel in the Swedish capital on Oct 10.
Aftonbladet published photos on its website on Oct 14 showing police officers in front of the hotel where Mbappe and the group had stayed.
His 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...
“In order to put an end to this methodical destruction of (the) image (of Kylian Mbappe), all necessary legal action will be taken to re-establish the truth.”
A source close to PSG, meanwhile, told AFP it would “ignore” Mbappe’s claim that there was a link between the report in Sweden and his dispute with the club.
Mbappe joined Real in the summer after seven years at PSG.
France coach Didier Deschamps said on Oct 14 that the report of his captain being investigated for rape “is not a good thing for the national team”.
“Everyone is free to write what they want but there is a negative atmosphere around the French team,” he said, following the 2-1 away win over Belgium in the Nations League on Oct 14.
“Be careful when you pick things up. You had better take a bit of a step back before publishing anything and everything, but these things happen so often,” he added, appearing to cast doubt on the report.
“In any case, I am not going to talk to him about it. He is big enough to know how to communicate.” AFP
