PARIS (AP) — A brother of World Cup winner Paul Pogba went on trial Tuesday with five other men as part of an extortion case that targeted the soccer player two years ago.
The case at the Paris criminal court is taking place without the former Manchester United and Juventus player, who has decided not to attend. The trial is set to last one week.
A judge ordered the six men to stand trial following an investigation into whether Pogba was the target of extortion by his brother Mathias and childhood friends.
Mathias Pogba is on trial “for the offenses of attempted extortion and criminal conspiracy," the prosecutor’s office said.
The five others — identified by their first names only — allegedly demanded 13 million euros ($13.6 million) from the France midfielder, and repeatedly intimidated him, claiming he should have supported them after he became an international soccer star.
They are accused of extortion and attempted extortion by using violence, abduction and confinement to facilitate a crime or misdemeanor, as well as criminal conspiracy.
Defense lawyers Yves Leberquier and Karim Morand-Lahouazi reportedly asked the court Tuesday to summon Pogba so they can question him.
During the investigation, Pogba said he paid 100,000 euros to the organized group including his brother. According to French media reports, the 31-year-old player also told investigators the alleged extortionists wanted to discredit him by claiming he asked a witch doctor to cast a spell on France teammate Kylian Mbappé. Pogba denied the allegation.
The case became public after Mathias Pogba posted threats on social media to share “explosive” revelations about his brother, Mbappé and Paul Pogba's agent Rafaela Pimenta. Mathias Pogba was also a soccer player who spent most of his career with lower-tier teams in Europe.
Once one of the world’s top midfielders, Pogba has made the headlines in recent years more often for his off-field problems than for his soccer brilliance.
Earlier this month, Juventus said it came to “a mutual agreement” with Pogba to cancel his contract despite the France World Cup winner having a ban for doping slashed last month. The Serie A club never seemed overly enthusiastic about welcoming Pogba back after his four-year ban for doping was reduced to 18 months following an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Pogba, who will be free to resume his career in March, had said he was ready to give up money to play for Juventus again.
Pogba tested positive for testosterone in August last year and was handed the maximum punishment by Italy’s anti-doping court.
But CAS judges cut Pogba’s ban as they acknowledged a lack of intent and said his positive test was the result of erroneously taking a supplement prescribed to him by a medical doctor in Florida. Pogba’s contract with Juventus was set to expire in June 2026.
In 2016, Pogba became the then-most expensive soccer player in history when he joined Manchester United from Juventus for a fee of 105 million euros.
He starred in France’s World Cup triumph in 2018 and returned to Juventus as a free agent in 2022. Injuries limited him to just eight Serie A appearances in his second spell at the club before his ban last year.
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The Associated Press
