Just two days after winning the final at the European Handball Championship, a French player is said to have committed a serious crime. The right winger was temporarily arrested.
The French national handball player Benoit Kounkoud was accused of attempted rape a few days after the European Championship triumph in Cologne. The police in Paris temporarily arrested the 26-year-old, and after a day in custody he was released on Wednesday. The investigation is continuing “to collect further witness statements,” the prosecutor’s office told AFP.
A woman accuses Kounkoud of having committed the alleged act on Tuesday night in a nightclub in the 8th arrondissement of Paris – two days after the European Championship final victory against Denmark. Kounkoud could not immediately be reached for comment.
The right winger is a teammate of German national goalkeeper Andreas Wolff at top Polish club KS Kielce. At the European Championships he did not go beyond the role of a supplementary player; he was not used in the semi-finals against Sweden and in the final. The French handball association said it would “closely monitor” the further steps of the judicial authorities. Kielce said the club was taking the case “seriously” and would take “appropriate measures” when official information was available.