Mbappé's representatives dismiss Swedish reports of a rape claim

STOCKHOLM (AP) — French soccer star Kylian Mbappé’s representatives have rejected as “false and irresponsible” reports in Swedish media saying he is the subject of a rape investigation in the Nordic country.

Without citing sources, several Swedish media including tabloids Expressen and Aftonbladet and broadcasters SVT and TV4 reported that the Real Madrid striker was the subject of a rape claim following a visit to Stockholm last week.

In response to the reports, Swedish prosecutors issued a brief statement Tuesday saying a rape had been reported to police, but didn’t name any suspect.

“According to the report the incident took place on Oct. 10, 2024, at a hotel in central Stockholm,” said the statement published by the Swedish Prosecution Authority.

Prosecutor Marina Chirakova, who is leading that investigation, declined to give any further details.

“From my side I cannot confirm whether there is a suspect in the case,” she told The Associated Press.

Names of suspects are typically not made public by Swedish authorities until charges are filed or a suspect is ordered held in pre-trial detention.

Mbappé's communications team accused Swedish media of spreading “slanderous” rumors.

“These accusations are totally false and irresponsible, and their propagation is unacceptable,” they said in a statement sent to the AP and other media. “Kylian Mbappé will under no circumstances tolerate his integrity, reputation and honor being sullied by unfounded insinuations.”

In a post late Monday on his official X account Mbappé wrote “FAKE NEWS!!!!” and linked to a French article picking up the Swedish reports.

He appeared to draw a link between the reports in Sweden and a hearing in Paris on Tuesday in a legal dispute with former club Paris Saint-Germain over unpaid wages.

“It’s becoming so predictable, on the eve of the hearing, as if by chance,” the post said in French.

Mbappé’s lawyers didn’t comment as they arrived for and left the hearing in Paris on Tuesday.

Later Tuesday, a lawyer for Mbappé, Marie-Alix Canu-Bernard, told French broadcaster TF1 that her client was “bewildered” by the reports.

“We are told that a complaint has been lodged, but at this stage we don’t even know against whom. A complaint does not make the truth, a complaint does not prove anything. And once again, I don’t even know if the complaint is against him," she said.

Swedish media already last week reported on Mbappé’s brief stay in Stockholm, publishing pictures of him and his entourage.

The French star had been given permission to skip international duty because of a minor thigh injury as France beat Israel and Belgium in Nations League matches on Oct. 10 and Oct. 14, respectively.

Mbappé, who won the World Cup with France in 2018, joined Real Madrid this summer after seven years at PSG.

Petrequin reported from London. Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen, Denmark, contributed to this report.

FILE - Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe looks on before the start of a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Mallorca and Real Madrid at the Son Moix Stadium in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, Sunday, Aug. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Ubilla, File)

FILE - Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe attends the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Valladolid at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, Aug. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez, File)

FILE - Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe tries to control the ball during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Las Palmas and Real Madrid at the Gran Canaria stadium in Las Palmas, Spain's Canary Islands, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Gabriel Jimenez, File)

Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe, right, dribbles the ball past Lille's Benjamin Andre during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Lille and Real Madrid at the Stade Pierre Mauroy in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, outside Lille, France, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Mbappé's representatives dismiss Swedish reports of a rape claim

Mbappé's representatives dismiss Swedish reports of a rape claim

MAGDEBURG, Germany (AP) — Germany on Saturday was still in shock and struggling to understand the suspect behind the attack in the city of Magdeburg.

Identified by local media as 50-year-old Taleb A., a psychiatry and psychotherapy specialist, authorities said he has been living in Germany for two decades. He was arrested on site after plowing a black BMW into a Christmas market crowded with holiday shoppers Friday evening, killing at least five people and wounding about 200 others.

Prominent German terrorism expert Peter Neumann posted on X that he had yet to come across a suspect in an act of mass violence with that profile.

Taleb’s X account is filled with tweets and retweets focusing on anti-Islam themes and criticism of the religion while sharing congratulatory notes to Muslims who left the faith. He also described himself as a former Muslim.

He was critical of German authorities, saying they had failed to do enough to combat the “Islamism of Europe.”

He has also voiced support for the far-right and anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

Some described Taleb as an activist who helped Saudi women flee their homeland. Recently, he seemed focused on his theory that German authorities have been targeting Saudi asylum seekers.

Neumann, the terrorism expert, wrote: “After 25 years in this ‘business’ you think nothing could surprise you anymore. But a 50-year-old Saudi ex-Muslim who lives in East Germany, loves the AfD and wants to punish Germany for its tolerance towards Islamists — that really wasn’t on my radar."

On Saturday, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser told reporters: “At this point, we can only say for sure that the perpetrator was evidently Islamophobic – we can confirm that. Everything else is a matter for further investigation and we have to wait.”

A German-based organization called Athiest Refugee Relief said the alleged attacker was not a part of the group and claimed that he made “numerous accusations and claims” against it and former board members, which it said were false.

“We distance ourselves from him in the strongest terms," the group said in a statement on its website, adding that members of Atheist Refugee Relief filed a criminal complaint against him in 2019 following “the most foul slander and verbal attacks."

An image taken from a video shows police officers arresting a suspect after car drove into a crowd at the Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, Friday Dec. 20, 2024. (TNN/DPA via AP)

A person stands by flowers and candles placed outside St. John's Church near a Christmas Market, where a car drove into a crowd on Friday evening, in Magdeburg, Germany, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)