New twist in the Benoît Kounkoud affair.
Arrested and placed in police custody during the night of Monday to Tuesday for an accusation of attempted rape in a nightclub near the Champs-Élysées, which he strongly contests, the handball player, just European champion, was suspended this Friday by his Polish club Kielce.
“He is prohibited from representing the club during our team's matches until the matter is clarified by the French authorities,” the club, where the player has played since 2022, said in a press release.
On Wednesday, the team had already reacted, ensuring that it would take the necessary measures to sanction the right winger if the facts were proven.
“Following the information published by the French media concerning Benoît Kounkoud, the club is in contact with the French Federation and the player's manager, treating this matter seriously and at the same time condemning any behavior that violates the rules of social life, had writes the club where Nicolas Tournat and Dylan Nahi also play.
After obtaining official information regarding the incident, the club will take all appropriate measures.
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Two days later, when the Frenchman's custody was lifted but the investigation is still ongoing, the Polish club decided to suspend his player.
According to the first elements of the investigation, Benoît Kounkoud would have pulled down his pants around 4:30 a.m. and attempted to rape a young woman.
The police were then called, while a security guard held the player there.
Read alsoHandball: who is Benoît Kounkoud, the French European champion accused of attempted rape?
“A woman born in March 2003 accuses him of attempted rape, during an alcoholic evening in a nightclub in the 8th arrondissement,” the public prosecutor then explained.
Facts disputed by the handball player, who considered these accusations “seriously false”.
In a press release, his lawyer, Me Mario Stasi, explained that Benoît Kounkoud had “been able to make his version of the facts of an evening heard without violence of any kind, in contrast to the slanderous denunciations of which he was unfairly subjected. subject and without any objective element of the file - hearings of witnesses and viewing of videos - having come to invalidate his statements.
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