The affair made the headlines of the press across the Channel. The tabloids obviously make it their fat, but the traditional dailies (
Time, the Guardian, the Telegraph
) also deal with this sad story. The scandal was revealed by the
Daily Mail
: A 29-year-old professional rugby player, former England international, is suspected of raping a teenage girl last weekend after a night out at a Manchester nightclub. To commit his misdeed, this player, whose name has not been disclosed for legal reasons, would have had an accomplice, a 41-year-old woman, who would have drugged the victim. Arrested on Sunday, both were released on bail while the investigation continues.
Read also Rugby: an English rugby player, an "international star", accused of rape of a teenage girl
The speculations are rife to know who is the former English international suspected in this case. Danny Cipriani's wife, 41, denied on social media that her husband was the arrested player. Victoria Cipriani lamented that several journalists showed up outside their home on Wednesday morning, mistakenly believing they were the couple in question. “
I guess they're making that assumption because I'm the same age as the woman we're talking about in this case
,” she wrote. “
It is completely unjustified and completely unacceptable. Neither Danny nor I have been arrested, and we have nothing to do with the reported case in any way.
Danny Cipriani, who was for a long time the enfant terrible of English rugby, is ... 34 years old.
Bad pick.
Luxury prostitute
But this Wednesday, the woman who is suspected of having participated in this sexual assault spoke to the
Daily Mail
.
This is a luxury prostitute, who explained that the player in question is one of her clients and that he pays her 190 euros an hour.
She confirms that the rugby player met the young woman in a Manchester nightclub - as she was celebrating her 18th birthday - and brought her back to his apartment for a "threesome".
He is very arrogant and thinks he can behave however he wants.
I just took the girl out and called the police
The woman suspected of drugging the victim
But she claims that she didn't want to be involved in this relationship.
“The next morning I saw the girl completely upset in my guest room. She didn't understand why she was half naked and in a stranger's apartment. (...) She was crying and was upset. She was shocked and I was shocked. But I was also angry that he brought this girl here like this. ”
The portrait she paints of the rugby player is hardly flattering.
“He's very arrogant and thinks he can behave however he wants. I just took the girl out and called the police. She was really upset, and I just wanted to help her and do the right thing
, ”she says, defending herself from drugging the victim.
For the moment, neither the English Federation (Rugby Football Union), nor the player's club have expressed themselves on this affair which is causing a stir. On social networks, many are trying to find out who the rugby player is. For now, his name has not been released out of respect for the ongoing proceedings. It remains to be seen whether the tabloid press, particularly virulent in England, will succeed in preserving this anonymity for a long time ...
English rugby is not its first sex scandal.
During the XV de la Rose tour of New Zealand in 2008, four players (Danny Care, Topsy Ojo, Mike Brown and David Strettle) were charged with sexual assault on a dancer.
During the 2011 Cup - again in New Zealand -, the English internationals had multiplied the excesses (dwarf throwing competition, diving from a ferry ...) and three of them had even humiliated a cleaning lady in their room. hotel.
This rape case that shakes England - already marked by the many accusations against the French footballer Benjamin Mendy, who plays in ... Manchester City - is this time much more serious.