Five Paris Saint-Germain Women players were given security guards after receiving threatening phone-calls in the days before one of them was brutally beaten, French media has claimed.
Kheira Hamraoui (31) was the victim of an attack. AminataDiallo (26), is currently under arrest for orchestrating it.
Two men beat Hamraoui with iron bars and dragged her from her car in the late autumn, just days before Hamraoui was assaulted by them.
Reports don’t indicate when these women received guards, whether they were after calls were made or just after an attack.
A 34-year old man was taken into police custody. Diallo’s childhood friend is currently in prison for racketeering. He was suspected of calling from behind bars.
The police are investigating the possibility that Diallo employed goons in order to take out her rival so that she could join PSG’s team.
Kheira Hamraoui, 31, (left), was left needing stitches after a brutal assault on the night of November 4 – with teammate Aminata Diallo, 26, (right) now arrested in connection with it
Police have yet to charge Diallo (left) but are thought to be working on the theory that she hired goons to attack Hamraoui (right) to take her place in the squad
Hamraoui suffered severe injuries to her legs and hands from the attack and was unable to attend a Champions League match this week.
According to the L’Equipe newspaper, the caller claimed to be a married man from Barcelona who had a years-long affair with Hamraoui while she was playing in the city while accusing her of ruining his life and vowing revenge.
While it appears the calls were designed as a cover-story for the eventual beating, L’Equipe says they actually turned police suspicion on Hamraoui’s teammates after the caller gave away personal details that only someone close to her could have known.
According to the caller, he spoke of a party in Hamraoui’s house during which Hamraoui had a ‘fall’. This information was not available to all.
Diallo is still being held without charges and has denied any allegations made during interviews with police.
The extension to her stay in custody was made until Friday. She could then make her first court appearance.
According to reports, the 34-year old man was born in Grenoble, where Diallo grew. He is said to have played junior football for Olympique Lyonnais. Although he has not been charged, it seems that he denies all allegations.
Hamraoui remains under guard, news site RMC Sport reports, with security posted both inside and outside of her home.
Diallo remains in custody under the protection of police, though it is not known if any other callers have access to security information.
The masked attackers of the beating are still unknown to police.
The phone calls were reported as new details about the night Hamraoui was attacked emerged in local press.
It was hours before the attack. all PSG players and staff had attended a ‘bonding’ inner at posh restaurant Le Chalet des Iles, located on an island in the Bois de Boulogne – a royal hunting ground-turned-park to the west of Paris.
After the meal Diallo had offered to drive Hamraoui and another player – Sakina Karchaoui – home to the nearby department of Yvelines, where all three live.
Diallo had just dropped Karchaoui off at her home around 10.30pm when the masked attackers approached the car and dragged Hamraoui out.
One of them allegedly shouted abuse at Hamraoui and beat her legs with an iron bar, while the other ‘detained’ Diallo but did not harm her.
They fought for a short time before the two men ran away.
Hamraoui immediately reached out to PSG’s head of security, as well as the assistant coach for the team. She was then taken to hospital and received stitches.
This meant that she was unable to attend team training and a crucial Champions League match against Real Madrid. Diallo started in her place.
Diallo was taken into custody by police at 6am on the morning following the match.
PSG confirmed that her arrest was made and claimed it to be related to another of their players being assaulted, however they refused to provide further information.
Before the attack, Hamraoui and Diallo were said to be good friends – holidaying together on numerous occasions, including in 2019 to console each-other on being missed out of the French national squad during a home World Cup.
While they were familiar with each other for many years as elite French female footballers of the highest caliber, they never had played at the exact same club until this season.
Hamraoui, who had signed with PSG in 2012, played with them until 2016. He then left the club to sign for Lyon and Barcelona.
Diallo was also signed to PSG in 2016. He has been there ever since. The last two seasons, however were spent on loan.
Diallo (far left) started in place of the injured Hamraoui (second right) in midfield against Real Madrid on Tuesday night, a game the team won 4-0. The next day, she was taken into custody
Diallo was driving Hamraoui home from a team meal when her car was stopped by two masked men who beat her teammate but left her unscathed
Recalled to the first squad this summer, Diallo later learned she would be playing alongside Hamraoui who was making a triumphant return from Barcelona having just claimed the treble of Champions League, domestic league, and league cup.
Hamraoui was also not the first to achieve a triple, as he had done the same feat in Lyon twice consecutively.
Diallo isn’t exactly a star in her field. Despite joining PSG five years ago, she has yet to lift a piece of silverware – spending the 2020 season with Utah Royals in the US and 2021 season with Atletico Madrid.
Diallo has started three of PSG’s seven league games this season and has come on as a sub in the other four, while Hamraoui has started six of the seven league games, with Diallo starting the other match against Soyaux-Charente on September 12.
Both played together in the October 10 game against Guingamp, and the October 31 game against Dijon. However, Hamraoui was on the bench for both of the matches. Yesterday’s third match saw Diallo start on the bench.
Diallo’s arrest has been confirmed by the club.
PSG stated in a club statement: ‘Paris Saint-Germain has taken note of Aminata Dillo, the Versailles DRPJ being under police custody as part the process that was opened after an attack on club players last Thursday.
“Paris Saint-Germain condemns all violence.
“Since Thursday night November 4, 2018, the club has taken every precaution to ensure the safety, health and well-being of all its members.
‘Paris Saint-Germain works with Versailles SRPJ in order to clarify the truth. The club will monitor the progression of the investigation and provide follow-up.
This news is just days ahead of PSG’s massive top-of-the-table clash against Lyon on Sunday.
After seven matches, both teams have 21 points. PSG won the Division 1 title and knocked Lyon out of the Champions League quarterfinals. This ended Lyon’s fourteen-year-old reign as top scorer in Division 1. Lyon was the European champion five times in succession.
After leaving Champions League winner Barcelona, Hamraoui moved to PSG this summer.
Following a two-year absence from the France team for 2023 World Cup qualification matches, she was summoned back. But she had to pull out due to a injury in her left calf. Diallo was appointed in her place.
Diallo was not present in France’s matches against Estonia and Kazakhstan.
Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan: The dark side of sports rivalry
Tonya Harding of the USA and Nancy Kerrigan from Canada were competing to be at 1994 Winter Olympics. These were long-standing figures skating rivalries. Things turned ugly…
Jan 6, 1994Kerrigan is attacked the night before the US National Figure Skating Championships. Shane Stant, a hired hitman, uses a 21-inch collapsible baton, to strike Kerrigan in his right leg.
Jeff Gillooly (the ex-husband Harding) contracted Smith and Shawn Eckhardt, Harding’s bodyguard. The aftermath was captured on cameras and Kerrigan cried out, “Why?” Why? Why? Why?
Jan. 8, 1994Harding won gold at 1994 Championships. This guaranteed her a spot in Lillehammer’s Winter Olympics.
Kerrigan was supported by her fellow skaters who offered Kerrigan a place to participate in the Olympics…
January 12, 1994 Eckhardt’s bodyguard for Harding confesses to the attack following an FBI investigation. Smith was indicted along with Stant and Gillooly.
–January 14, 1994The United States Figure Skating Association decides that Harding is eligible to compete at Lillehammer. There has been no proof to support her claim.
Jan. 27, 1994 Gilolly, the mastermind behind the attack, confesses and implicates Harding, Eckhardt, Stant and Smith.
Harding denied involvement and issued the following statement. ‘Despite my errors and rough edges I have not done anything to violate the standards for excellence in sportsmanship expected of an Olympic athlete.
The U.S. Olympic Committee finally decides she is allowed to participate.
February 25, 1994This is:Harding places eighth at the Olympics. Kerrigan is awarded the silver medal.
March 16, 1994: Harding pleads guilty to the charge of ‘conspiracy to hinder prosecution.’ She is given three years probation along with a $160,000 penalty. She is later stripped of her 1994 title at the national championships and receives a $160,000 fine.
Harding is the only person who was not sentenced for Kerrigan’s attacks.
Tonya Harding finally pleaded guilty for knowing about her attacker
Nancy Kerrigan was attacked by a hired hitman before the 1994 Winter Olympics.