Handball After receiving Macron
Arrested two days after final – European champion accused of attempted rape
Status: 01.02.2024 | Reading time: 2 minutes
French right winger Benoît Kounkoud during the European Championships in Germany
What: AFP
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On Sunday Benoît Kounkoud celebrated winning the European Championship title. Two days later, the French national handball player was in prison. A few hours after receiving French President Macron, he is said to have pulled down his pants in a disco.
At the European Championships in Germany, Benoît Kounkoud (26) was able to celebrate with his colleagues on the parquet of Cologne’s Lanxess Arena on Sunday evening. After the previous 33:31 overtime over Denmark, the French handball player celebrated the greatest success of his career so far. Two days after the triumph, the 26-year-old was in prison.
Kounkoud is suspected of attempted rape. The right winger was temporarily arrested in Paris, where he played for PSG for eight years. After a day in custody, he was released on Wednesday. The investigation is continuing “to collect further witness statements,” the prosecutor’s office told AFP. “My client has been released and he denies the facts,” said Kounkoud’s lawyer Mario Stasi in response to a query from the agency.
Statements from the club and association
As various French media reports, Kounkoud is said to have gone to a disco in the capital following a reception by President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace. There he is said to have gotten very drunk on the night of Monday to Tuesday, pulled down his pants and tried to rape a 20-year-old woman. A security officer is said to have held the 44-time national player until the police took him into custody.
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Kounkoud is a teammate of Germany’s world-class goalkeeper Andreas Wolff at top Polish club Kielce. It said in a statement: “The association takes the matter very seriously and at the same time condemns any behavior that violates the rules of social life. The club will take all appropriate measures once it receives official information about the incident.”
The French handball federation said: “The FFHB is currently unable to comment on this matter and remains attentive to the follow-up measures taken by the judicial authorities.”
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