Former France Striker Gets Suspended Jail Term For Sexual Assault

Former France international footballer Wissam Ben Yedder received a suspended two-year jail sentence on Tuesday for sexually assaulting a woman in September.

Ben Yedder, the former captain of Ligue 1 club Monaco, ranks second on the team’s all-time leading goalscorers list. He departed from Monaco after last season and has remained without a club since then.

On the evening of September 6th, Ben Yedder met a woman during an inebriated outing and invited her into his car, according to the investigation.

The woman reported to the police that he had performed a sex act in front of her. She promptly filed a complaint, leading to Ben Yedder’s arrest later that night.

“I don’t remember anything, I can’t say if I did it. It’s because of alcohol that I’m here,” Ben Yedder, who entered a rehab program after the incident, said during the trial. He did not attend the sentencing on Tuesday.

Ben Yedder is also the defendant in another case going to trial in December in which he is charged with psychological violence against his wife. The couple is in the process of divorcing.

Ben Yedder also stands accused by another woman of raping her in the summer of 2023. Police are still investigating that claim.

He has denied both accusations.

Ben Yedder started his professional career in Toulouse before moving to Spanish side Sevilla.

In 2023, a Spanish court convicted him of tax fraud committed during his time living in the country, resulting in a six-month suspended sentence.

He arrived at Monaco in 2019 where he scored 118 goals in 201 matches, but his contract was not extended when it expired this year.

He scored three times for the French national team in 19 matches.