LONDON – Manchester City on Thursday announced the suspension of French international Benjamin Mendy, pending a police investigation after he was formally charged with four counts of rape and one count of sexual assault.
The 27-year-old left-back is still in police custody and is scheduled to appear before the Magistrates’ Court in Chester (north-west England) on Friday.
The charges against Mendy are based on the allegations of three people over the age of 16 in relation to events that allegedly occurred between October 2020 and August 2021, according to police sources in a statement released on Thursday.
Police recalled that the accused “is entitled to a fair trial” and remarked that it is “extremely important” that no information or comments be shared online that could compromise the ongoing court case.
For its part, Manchester City stressed in their statement that “the matter is subject to a legal process and therefore the Club cannot make further comments until this process is complete”.