Paris: French officials have confirmed that Juventus star Paul Pogba’s brother is in police custody along with four other people as part of an investigation into alleged efforts to extort millions of euros from the French World Cup-winning midfielder.
Mathias Pogba came to see Paris police about the probe Wednesday afternoon and was held for questioning, according to an official close to the investigation.
He is among four people put under police custody Tuesday and Wednesday as part of the investigation, the official said. The official was not authorised to be publicly named discussing the ongoing investigation.
Mathias Pogba has denied taking part in extortion attempts against his brother. Mathias Pogba’s lawyer Richard Arbib said in a statement last week that his client wants “more than anything else” to ease the situation with his brother.
The Paris prosecutor’s office opened an investigation last month into allegations that Paul Pogba — who scored one of France’s goals in the 2018 World Cup final — was the target of an extortion plot by his brother and childhood friends demanding €13 million ($19m) from him.
The case became public after Mathias Pogba threatened to share “explosive revelations” about his brother and France star Kylian Mbappe.
An injured Paul Pogba in the stands prior to an Italian Serie A match last month.Credit:Getty
Mathias Pogba had a modest career as a forward with lower-tier teams in England and other European countries.
The injured Pogba, who is racing the clock to be fit for France’s World Cup defence in Qatar in November due to a knee injury, played no part in Juve’s 2-1 Champions League loss to Benfica on Wednesday (Thursday AEST).
The Old Lady got off to a dream start at home in Turin when Arkadiusz Milik scored in the fourth minute, but a penalty to Joao Mario and a David Neres goal either side of half-time leaves the Italian giants six points adrift of the Portuguese club and group leaders Paris Saint-Germain, who beat Maccabi Haifa 3-1, after two matches.
Elsewhere, battling Salzburg held a disjointed Chelsea to a 1-1 draw, severely denting the 2021 winners’ chances of qualifying from Group E.
Raheem Sterling’s 48th-minute goal for Chelsea was cancelled out by Noah Okafor 15 minutes from time.Credit:Getty
Raheem Sterling put the London side ahead in the 48th minute latching on to a low cross from Mason Mount and shooting beyond the diving Philipp Kohn into the left corner of his net.
But Noah Okafor equalised in the 75th minute with a low shot after Cesar Azpilicueta and Thiago Silva had failed to clear the ball. The Austrian side also drew against AC Milan last week.
It was a disappointing first game for new Chelsea coach Graham Potter, who took over at the end of last week, following the shock dismissal of Thomas Tuchel after Chelsea lost their first group game to Dinamo Zagreb.
Earlier, Shakhtar Donetsk and Celtic played out a gripping 1-1 draw in their second Group F game after the Ukrainian side’s winger Mykhailo Mudryk cancelled out an early own goal in Warsaw on Wednesday.
Champions League matchday 2 results
Wednesday (AEST):
- Viktoria Plzen 0 Inter Milan 2
- Sporting Lisbon 2 Tottenham 0
- Liverpool 2 Ajax 1
- Bayern 2 Barcelona 0
- Porto 0 Club Brugge 4
- Marseille 0 Eintracht Frankfurt 1
- Leverkusen 2 Atletico Madrid 0
Thursday:
- Shakhtar Donetsk 1 Celtic 1
- AC Milan 3 Dinamo Zagreb 1
- Rangers 0 Napoli 3
- Chelsea 1 RB Salzburg 1
- Real Madrid 2 RB Leipzig 0
- Copenhagen 0 Sevilla 0
- Juventus 1 Benfica 2
- Maccabi Haifa 1 Paris Saint-Germain 3
- Manchester City 2 Dortmund 1
Celtic, managed by former Socceroos boss Ange Postecoglou, dominated the opening stages and were rewarded for their pressure when Reo Hatate was slipped through and his sublime touch from a tight angle was deflected into the net by Artem Bondarenko.
Shakhtar made their few chances count in an emphatic 4-1 win at RB Leipzig in their opening group game and they equalised with their first real opportunity when Mudryk outpaced his marker down the left and blasted the ball past goalkeeper Joe Hart.
Mudryk nearly assisted a second goal two minutes later with a cutback for an effort that was ruled out for an offside in the build-up, but the tide had turned as Shakhtar began to find openings and Celtic looked to regroup.
The Scottish side played with more purpose in the second half, Portuguese midfielder Jota running the show with mazy runs and incisive passes, and Celtic wasted two gilt-edged late chances.
Shakhtar are playing their home games in Poland due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a “special operation”. They next travel to defending champions Real Madrid in October while Celtic go to Leipzig.
AP, Reuters
