Former France striker Wissam Ben Yedder handed two-year suspended jail sentence over sexual assault while intoxicated

Former France international Wissam Ben Yedder has been handed a two-year suspended jail sentence after being found guilty of sexual assault.

Ben Yedder went on trial last month after being accused of sexual assault while intoxicated.

Prosecutors had requested a jail sentence of two years and six months, with 18 months suspended.

Ben Yedder’s lawyer Marie Roumiantseva told the Associated Press the footballer has been given a suspended sentence of two years in prison.

The footballer has also been ordered to pay €5,000 (£4,100) in compensation.

The former France international has been found guilty of a sexual assault in September

Ben Yedder last played for Monaco but left the 34-year-old left at the end of last season

He has also had his driving licence suspended for six months. 

Ben Yedder, a former Toulouse, Sevilla and Monaco forward, is able to appeal the verdict. 

He had been accused of driving a young woman, born in 2001, to an underground car park, attempting to masturbate in front of her, and touching her thigh, as reported by RMC Sport.

His defence insisted that the allegation of touching the woman on the thigh is ‘not a serious fact’.

He was arrested in a ‘state of intoxication’ between the night of Friday September 6 and the early hours of the Saturday morning.

Ben Yedder said during the trial that he was so drunk he has no recollection of any kind of sexual assault.

Since his arrest, Ben Yedder has reportedly attended Alcoholics Anonymous and admitted that he ‘hopes to cure himself of the situation’.

‘I’m making an effort,’ said the former French international. ‘To stop for good is the best solution to cure myself. I’ve always pointed out and I’ve always been there when justice called on me.’

He has also seen a ‘specialist psychologist’.

Ben Yedder had claimed he was so drunk he has no recollection of any kind of sexual assault

Ben Yedder had won 19 caps during his international career with France, scoring three goals

Ben Yedder was not present at Nice Criminal Court for his sentencing.

In a separate legal case, Ben Yedder was last year charged with rape, attempted rape and sexual assault over another alleged incident in the south of France.

Ben Yedder denies the allegation.

He is also due in court in December after his wife accused him of psychological violence amid their divorce proceedings.

Ben Yedder played 19 times for the French national team, scoring three goals, with his last appearance coming in June 2022. 

Across stints with Toulouse, Sevilla, and Monaco, the currently club-less forward has scored 259 goals in 513 games.