The coach of the French handball team Guillaume Gille published this Friday an expanded list of 23 players for an international week in March punctuated by the Trophée des Continents which will be played in Montpellier - Sud de France Aréna against Argentina and Egypt.
The coach chose to summon Benoît Kounkoud, despite the accusations against him.
On January 31, three days after the victory of the French team at the Euro, the former PSG (2015-2022) was placed in police custody.
He is accused by a 20-year-old woman of having tried to rape her in a Parisian nightclub where he was celebrating the European title with teammates.
Accusations that he strongly contested.
If he had emerged free, while the investigations continued, his Kielce club quickly reacted by suspending him on February 2.
The club explained "that he would no longer represent the club in the team's matches until the matter is clarified by the French authorities", before allowing him to play again this week.
Trophée des continents: 23 players summoned for the international week 🇫🇷
➡️ Guillaume Gille has chosen to summon 23 players for the international week in March punctuated by the Trophée des Continents which will be played in Montpellier - Sud de France Aréna 🏆🌍
program… pic. twitter.com/yb7KsA3Jll
— French Handball Teams (@FRAHandball) March 1, 2024
On the sidelines of the list, the FFH wanted to comment on the decision to recall the player with the France group: “As the investigation concerning the personal situation of Benoît Kounkoud is still ongoing, he remains selectable and appears in the list announced today .
FFHandball remains attentive to the evolution of the legal case and, depending on the results thereof, reserves the possibility of reversing this decision.
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After notably missing the European Championship in Germany, won by France on January 28, goalkeeper Vincent Gérard returns to Guillaume Gille's group.
Victim of pubalgia for many months for which he underwent surgery last September, Gérard, who will retire at the end of the Paris 2024 Games, has still not returned to competition with his German team.
The list of 20 Blues:
Goalkeepers:
Samir Bellahcene (THW Kiel) – Charles Bolzinger (Montpellier HB) – Rémi Desbonnet (Montpellier HB) – Vincent Gérard (Istres Provence HB).
Left wingers:
Hugo Descat (Telekom Veszprem) – Mathieu Grebille (Paris Saint Germain Handball) – Dylan Nahi (Industria Kielce).
Left backs:
Thibaud Briet (HBC Nantes) – Nikola Karabatic (Paris Saint Germain Handball) – Timothey N'Guessan (FC Barcelona) – Elohim Prandi (Paris Saint Germain Handball).
Center halves:
Kentin Mahé (Telekom Veszprèm) – Aymeric Minne (HBC Nantes) – Nedim Remili (Telekom Veszprèm).
Pivots:
Ludovic Fabregas (Telekom Veszprèm) – Luka Karabatic (Cap – Paris Saint Germain Handball) – Karl Konan (Montpellier HB) – Nicolas Tournat (Industria Kielce).
Right-backs:
Dika Mem (FC Barcelona) – Melvyn Richardson (FC Barcelona).
Right wingers:
Benoît Kounkoud (Industria Kielce) – Yanis Lenne (Montpellier HB) – Valentin Porte (Montpellier HB)