Former Barcelona and France star Eric Abidal could be heard by a magistrate probing the attack of Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) Kheira Hamraoui, AFP announced on Monday. Police on Monday sent an investigation to prosecutors in Versailles outside Paris.
In a search for new leads in the case after Hamraoui’s teammate, Aminata Diallo was released from custody without charge, it was established that Hamraoui was using a telephone SIM card registered in Abidal’s name on the night of the attack.
Hamraoui recently returned to PSG after three seasons at Barcelona, where Abidal was director of football from 2018-2020. Abidal is a name best known in France after his years as a Barcelona player and French international. He returned to his illustrious career as a sportsman after undergoing a liver transplant in 2012.
On Monday, prosecutors told AFP that Eric Abidal is “one of many leaders,” involved in PSG player attack but declined to question Abidal’s wife Hayet. The attack on Hamraoui happened while Diallo was being taken home on 4 November. Their car was stopped by two masked men, who pulled the players out of the vehicle and thrashed Hamraoui’s legs with a metal bar, holding Diallo.
Hamraoui, 31, needed stitches, and Diallo, who was not injured, played in PSG’s next match. Football news reported, Diallo, 26, was held in custody for nearly 35 hours before being released without charge, while investigators looked to see if a rivalry on the ground could explain the violence.
The French press reported that Hamraoui expressed concern about Diallo when she filed a police complaint about the attack, highlighting the unusual route taken by her teammate and the slow speed of their vehicle.
