Mathias Pogba (left) and their mother Yeo Moriba (right) arrive for his trial at the Paris Court house in Paris. (EPA Images pic)
PARIS: A Paris court on Thursday sentenced a brother of France midfielder Paul Pogba to a three-year prison term, with two years suspended, after convicting him in a high-profile extortion case.
Mathias Pogba, the elder brother of the ex-Manchester United player, will be able to serve his one-year sentence at home while wearing an electronic device rather than behind bars.
The court also fined Paul Pogba’s brother €20,000 for participating in the attempted extortion of €13 million (US$13.5 million) from Pogba in 2022, and for putting pressure on the player, his family and his business contacts to obtain the payment.
Mathias Pogba’s lawyer Mbeko Tabula said the ruling was “extremely harsh,” adding he planned to appeal.
“He’s obviously in a state of shock,” he said of his client.
“From the outset, he has maintained his innocence, saying that he was manipulated, that he was coerced, that he was pressured, that he would never have acted negatively towards his brother.”
The trial came on top of professional woes for Paul Pogba, whose career has been far from smooth since France’s 2018 World Cup win when he scored against Croatia in the final.
The 31-year-old suffered through repeated injuries and patchy form that led to his departure from Manchester United in 2022. He returned for a second stint at Juventus, where problems continued to dog him.
He is serving a suspension for doping which was reduced to 18 months on appeal and he will be free to play again in March next year, but last month Juventus terminated his contract.
The extortion case involving six men linked to Paul Pogba has shocked the French football world because the alleged perpetrators included three childhood friends and Pogba’s own brother.
The five other defendants were found guilty of extortion, sequestration and detention, as well as participation in a criminal gang, and sentenced to up to eight years in prison, as well as fines of between €20,000 and €40,000.
The court also said Paul Pogba had suffered economic damages worth €197,000 and psychological damages of €50,000.
Only the kidnapping charge was not retained, as suggested by the public prosecutor.
Roushdane K, considered to be the mastermind behind the affair, was sentenced to eight years in prison.
Mathias was the one to go public in the case, publishing a video on social media in August 2022 promising revelations about his younger brother that were “likely to be explosive”.
In a subsequent clip, Mathias accused Paul Pogba of casting an evil spell on his international teammate Kylian Mbappe through a witch doctor.
Pogba told French investigators he had in March 2022 been “tricked by childhood friends” from the Paris suburb where he and Mathias grew up.
He accused them of snatching him before he was held at gunpoint by two hooded men with assault rifles who demanded €13 million for “services rendered” and blamed him for not helping them financially.
Pogba said at the time had paid them only €100,000.
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