Paris Saint-Germain have confirmed that midfielder, Aminata Diallo was taken into police custody on Wednesday morning on the suspicion of hiring two men to attack her own teammate in a bid to steal her place in the squad.
The news came just a day after the France international featured in PSG’s comprehensive Women’s Champions League victory over Real Madrid, playing 89 minutes in the 4-0 group-stage win.
Diallo, 26, was arrested early Wednesday at her home in Marly-le-Roi, near Versailles, by officers probing a November 4 attack on 31-year-old, Kheira Hamraoui.
The attack happened on the evening of November 4 following a team meal that PSG held for players in Paris, a relative of Hamraoui to French magazine L’Equipe.
After the meal, Diallo offered to drive Hamraoui from the restaurant to her home in the Yvelines region, close to where her own property is located.
When the pair got close to Hamraoui’s home, two masked men stopped the car and beat her with iron bars.
The assault is thought to have lasted a few minutes, after which the men fled.
Diallo was ‘detained‘ by the two men during the assault but did not suffer any injuries, a club source told AFP.
It is not clear exactly how the two men stopped the car, or how Diallo was ‘detained‘ but Hamraoui was taken to hospital where she was given stitches in her legs and hands.
She subsequently missed a Tuesday night Champions League game against Real Madrid, with Diallo – also a midfielder and French international – taking her place. PSG won the game 4-0 and Diallo was arrested their morning.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the club said;
Paris Saint-Germain can confirm that Aminata Diallo was taken into custody this morning by the Versailles Regional Police Service as part of the proceedings opened following an attack on the club’s players last Thursday evening. Paris Saint-Germain condemns in the strongest possible terms the violence committed.
Since Thursday evening the club has taken all necessary measures to guarantee the health, well-being and safety of its entire women’s team. Paris Saint-Germain is working with the Versailles Police to clarify the facts. The club is paying close attention to the progress of the proceedings and will study what action to take.
Police have yet to charge Diallo and are not thought to have identified the masked attackers, but French media say they are working on the theory that she wanted her teammate injured in a case of rivalry-gone-wrong.
