Paris Saint-Germain women’s soccer player Aminata Diallo has been arrested on suspicion of hiring two goons to attack teammate Kheira Hamraoui in an effort to gain the starting role. Diallo was taken into custody early Wednesday, Nov. 10, at her home in Marly-le-Roi, near Versailles.
PSG confirm women's midfielder Aminata Diallo has been taken into police custody. She allegedly hired masked men to injure her France and PSG teammate Kheira Hamraoui and stop her competing for playing time, per @lequipe pic.twitter.com/3NxafxtwRY
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 10, 2021
Raise your hand if Ligue 1, France’s top professional league, was where you predicted the next hire-a-goon-to-assault-your-rival story would come from.
According to reports, Hamraoui was being driven home by Diallo when two masked men stopped the car and beat Hamraoui so badly with iron bars that she required stitches.
Hamraoui missed the Tuesday, Nov. 9, Champions League game against Real Madrid as a result of the attack. Diallo started the game in her place, a PSG 4-0 win.
At this point Diallo has only been arrested on suspicion. No formal charges have been filed.
PSG acknowledged Diallo’s arrest and confirmed that it is linked to an investigation over the assault of another of its players but offered no further comment
The attack happened on the evening of Nov. 4 following a team meal that PSG held for its players in Paris, a relative of Hamraoui told French magazine L’Equipe.
After the meal, Diallo offered to drive Hamraoui home from the restaurant. On the way to Hamraoui’s home, two masked men stopped the car and beat her with metal bars.
The suspicion on Diallo is due to the fact that she was only detained by the two men and suffered no injuries during the attack.
PSG released a statement on the situation.
Paris Saint-Germain can confirm that Aminata Diallo was taken into custody this morning by the Versailles Regional Police Service as part of the proceedings opened following an attack on the Club’s players last Thursday evening.
Paris Saint-Germain condemns in the strongest possible terms the violence committed.
Since Thursday evening the Club has taken all necessary measures to guarantee the health, well-being and safety of its entire women’s team.
Paris Saint-Germain is working with the Versailles Police to clarify the facts. The Club is paying close attention to the progress of the proceedings and will study what action to take.
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 Sept. 12.
Playing time is believed to be a possible motive for the assault as Diallo served as Hamraoui’s understudy on the depth chart.
When a story like this occurs, you immediately think of the Nancy Kerrigan assault at the United States figure skating championships in 1994. It was discovered that the plot to injure Kerrigan was orchestrated by the ex-husband of rival skater Tonya Harding.
The incident was the looming shadow over the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway.
This is an extremely disturbing story. If the allegations against Diallo turn out to be true she will certainly face criminal charges and her soccer career would likely be over.
