France’s Benzema in prostitution probe

Police will question French footballer Karim Benzema over prostitution involving a minor, an official said Wednesday, making him the third star of France’s national team named in the scandal.

The judicial source, speaking on condition of anonymity according to regular French practice, said a prostitute had told investigators she had sex with Real Madrid striker Benzema in 2008 when she was 16.

In France a person under 18 is considered a minor. Sex with a prostitute under 18 carries a jail term of up to three years.

The woman said she also had relations with Benzema’s France team mate Franck Ribery in 2009, when she was 17 but told him she was over 18, the source said.

A judicial official on Monday named Ribery in the case but said the Bayern Munich winger claimed he did not know she was a minor.

Sources close to the investigation said police had also questioned a third France international, Lyon winger Sydney Govou.

On Wednesday, the judicial official said the same woman told police Govou paid her for sex when she was 18.

The case falls less than two months before the football World Cup in South Africa, at which all three players are expected to play for France.

The source did not say when Benzema was likely to be questioned.