Anderlecht’s Moroccan international Mbark Boussoufa has accused Belgian police of racially mistreating him during an identity control.
Boussoufa was at a cafe near Brussel’s Gare du Midi train station when he was asked to produce his passport by police on Sunday.
When he failed to produce the document he was handcuffed and pinned to the floor before being led off to a nearby police station, according to witness accounts reported by local media.
“I still don’t know what I did wrong,” Boussoufa told La Derniere Heure/Les Sports newspaper on Monday.
“Should someone be handcuffed because he’s left his papers in his car? Does it constitute an act of racism? I’ll let you anwer that, but it’s obvious, isn’t it?”
A police spokesman contested Boussoufa’s version of events, insisting that handcuffs were necessary after the Anderlecht playmaker became “rebellious and refused to reveal his identity”.
Boussoufa was handed a verbal warning, judicial sources said, adding that Boussoufa was not entitled to be treated as a special case, but as an ordinary citizen and under law in possession of his identity card.
The police have denied any suggestion of racist behaviour and the mayor of Brussels has ordered a report to be made on the incident.
Boussoufa, 24, joined Anderlecht from Gent after spells with Ajax and Chelsea. He was named best player in Belgium in 2004.
