A Premier League footballer has been charged with the rape of a schoolgirl in France.
The player, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has been accused of lying to police about the incident which took place in 2012, according to a report in the Daily Telegraph.
The 23-year-old initially denied having sex with the girl, who was 15 at the time, but allegedly changed his story after being presented with evidence and then reportedly admitted to altering his account so that he wouldn’t upset his girlfriend.
The player was 17 at the time and he and his cousin, who has also been accused and was 19 at the time, are both on bail awaiting trial.
Both men deny raping the girl in the incident, which took place in Nimes in July 2012, but the complainant insists that she was plied with alcohol by the pair and was forced to have sexual intercourse.
The men are not French but were on holidays in Aigues-Mortes at the time of the alleged attack.
The Premier League footballer allegedly changed his story from denying having sexual contact with the girl to claiming that he had had consensual sex with her in a tent and that he was unaware that she was 15, which is the minimum of age of consent in France.
The ongoing case will have no immediate impact on the player’s football career, according to the report.
