Three detained in France over assault on footballer Hamraoui

French police arrested three men over last year’s assault on PSG and national football team star Kheira Hamraoui that rocked the women’s game in the country.

Hamraoui was dragged from a car and beaten on the legs with an iron bar near the French capital. | Photo Credit: GETTY IMAGES

French police on Wednesday arrested three men over last year’s assault on Paris Saint Germain and national football team star Kheira Hamraoui that rocked the women’s game in the country, prosecutors said.

The three men, at least one of whom has a criminal record, were detained at their homes at two different addresses outside Paris, Versailles prosecutors said in a statement to AFP.

According to a source familiar with the case, the three young men are suspected of having participated in the attack on Hamraoui in November 2021 outside Paris.

Hamraoui was dragged from a car and beaten on the legs with an iron bar near the French capital.

Aminata Diallo, Hamraoui’s team-mate and midfield rival, was detained by police immediately after the incident last November, but has always denied involvement.

Hamraoui was assaulted on November 4 as she returned home from a club dinner in a car being driven by Diallo.

The two players, both capped by France, were competing for the same spot in the PSG team and police appeared to initially focus on a theory that sporting rivalry might explain the attack.