Kylian Mbappe was spotted in Stockholm last Thursday night, after he went for dinner with a group of friends at Chez Jolie, alongside ex-Paris Saint-Germain teammate Nordi Mukiele, before heading to V nightclub during his days off. The Swedish press Aftonbladet have since alleged that he is a suspect in a rape investigation that is taking place at the hotel.
Mbappe addressed the story on Monday, calling it ‘fake news’ on Twitter/X, and his lawyer Marie-Alix Canu-Bernard has already declared that she will be suing for defamation. That was on Tuesday, and on Wednesday she appeared on BFMTV to address the issue again.
“When such a serious complaint is made, and the media echoes it in real time, when it involves such a famous figure throughout the world, questions arise. Has he been set up? I am not drawing conclusions, I don’t know. I’m just wondering about the timing and the way it was done,” Canu-Bernard declared, as quoted by MD.
“Someone knew he was going to Stockholm and that’s why he was photographed by a paparazzi and a tabloid (Aftonbladet) quickly published the images. As if by chance, the same newspaper published a report in which it was stated that a complaint had been filed.”
Their view is that Mbappe was not named by the police, and thus it could not have come from them.
“The prosecutor’s statement says nothing. Ipso facto, it was not the courts that leaked this information, nor the police. They strictly maintain secrecy.”
“Since nothing happened – and if it is indeed him because there were many people in Stockholm – and taking into account that there are 10,000 cameras in a hotel, the more the better. As we have seen in other recent stories of athletes abroad, thanks to the cameras and the hotel hallways we can know exactly what happened or did not happen,” she noted.
Canu-Bernard also claimed there was a wider campaign to besmirch the image of Mbappe.
“Although we do not know if (the investigation) is directed against him, the media were quick to say yes. For months he has been the subject of a campaign of denigration and attacks on his image.”
Certainly it is a delicate topic in general. Footballers are so high-profile, it is difficult to erase allegations against them, and even though none have been made, the very implication can be damaging to their image. Canu-Bernard’s job is to defend her client, and her questions are valid.
At the same time, victims of rape face enough obstacles as it is, without media coverage and people doubting their story, which in the vast majority of cases is dealing with a traumatic event. The majority of rapes go unreported still, and less than 5% result in convictions in Spain.
