France football captain Kylian Mbappé is “astonished” to see his name linked in media reports to a rape inquiry in Sweden, but his lawyer says the player is calm because he has nothing to be sorry about.
Swedish authorities have confirmed that a senior prosecutor is investigating a report of a suspected rape in Stockholm, without naming anyone in connection with the case.
However, Swedish media report that the French footballer is being linked to the allegations which involve an incident at a hotel in central Stockholm last Thursday.
Kylian Mbappé has also reacted, summing up the reports as “FAKE NEWS”, to his 14 million followers on X.
Swedish media said the footballer had stayed in Stockholm for two days last week, visiting a restaurant on Thursday evening before moving on to a nightclub. He was pictured walking in the centre of the capital with three other people.
Swedish prosecutors clarified on Monday that according to a “criminal report” submitted to police, the incident under investigation took place on 10 October at a hotel.
Police were seen visiting the Bank hotel he had stayed at on Monday, with officers later leaving with bags. One report said they had taken clothing from the hotel in evidence.
“The investigation is being led by senior prosecutor Marina Chirakova, who is unable to provide more information at this time,” the Swedish prosecution authority said.
Mbappé was not called up for France’s Uefa Nations League matches over the past week and has returned to training with his team Real Madrid.
Lawyer Petra Eklund, who is acting for the complainant in the case, has said she cannot comment on the case at the moment because of legal constraints.
However, Sweden’s SVT and other media outlets reported the allegation involved reasonable suspicion of rape, considered a lower level of suspicion under Swedish law.
Kylian Mbappé’s lawyers have condemned the media reports as defamatory, and on Tuesday night lawyer Marie-Alix Canu-Bernard appeared on the main evening news programme on TF1, saying nothing was known of the complaint or even if it had been made against her client, who she said was “stunned” by the media frenzy.
“[Kylian Mbappé] is never alone. He is never put in a position where he ends up in a situation that would lead to him taking a risk,” she insisted.
“As a result that totally rules out any possibility of reprehensible actions on his part. I can tell you that with absolutely certainty.”
She said a complaint proved nothing and that she was preparing to hit back with a claim for defamation.
Meanwhile, in his social media post on Monday night, the footballer appeared to connect the reports emerging from Sweden to a case with his previous French club Paris Saint-Germain over €55m (£46m) that he alleges was unpaid in wages and bonuses.
“It’s becoming so predictable, on the eve of the hearing, as if by chance,” he said.
Kylian Mbappé was the top goalscorer in PSG’s history but he left the club over the summer after months of dispute. Tuesday’s hearing was before a French football league (LFP) appeals committee. PSG denies the player’s allegations and another of Mbappé’s lawyers said a decision was expected on 25 October.
Sweden’s rape laws were reformed in 2018, so a perpetrator can be convicted of negligent assault or rape if they “should have realised the other person was not participating voluntarily”. – BBC
By Paul Kirby