Franck Ribery charged with soliciting an under-age prostitute

France and Bayern Munich winger Franck Ribery has been charged with soliciting an under-age prostitute and could face up to three years in jail, a judicial official told the news agency AFP.

Both Ribery and Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema had been detained for questioning by police about a prostitution ring in Paris. The players came under investigation after they were alleged to have paid for sex with Zahia Dehar when she was a minor.

Prostitution is legal in France, but prostitutes must be over 18 years old, and clients are liable if they are not of legal age. The woman in question denied that the players were aware of her age but this hasn't stopped an investigating magistrate from releasing Ribery after he was charged with the offence.

Speaking to AFP, the judicial official said: "Ribery was placed under formal judicial investigation after several hours of questioning by the French vice squad but has been released.

"Karim Benzema is to go before a judge later. Both face three years in prison, but only if the prosecution can prove they knew prostitute was a minor."

Zahia Dehar is alleged to have met clients at the club while she was under age, Dehar, has already told investigators that she had paid sex with the two players.

Under French law, paid sex with someone under the age of 18 is regarded as sex with a minor - even if the general age of consent is 15 - and punishable by three years in jail and a fine of €45,000.

Ms Dehar, now 18, said she never told her age either to Ribery, who plays for Bayern Munich, or Benzema, a Real Madrid player.

"It is an intentional offense, he would have to know her age, which wasn't the case," said Ribery's lawyer, Sophie Bottai. "She would have to look minor, which wasn't the case, she would have to tell him she was minor, which wasn't the case, since all over the press she claimed that she was adult and that she was more then 20 years old."

Dehar said she had been paid for sex since the age of 16 when she began partying in Paris. She claimed she met Benzema at a nightclub and he bought her services, and alleged that Lyon and France forward Sidney Govou had, too.

She told Paris Match magazine that Ribery flew her to a hotel in Germany for the night as a birthday present to himself.

Ribery has previously confirmed to police that he had sex with the woman, but insists he did not know she was a minor and Benzema has previously denied any wrong doing through his lawyer.

Earlier this year, police launched a raid on a Champs-Elysees nightclub called the Zaman Cafe and detained 18 girls on suspicion of prostitution.

According to the BBC, Dehar was not among them, although her name was already known to investigators, who had been carrying out phone taps on the cafe's managers.

During the 2010 World Cup, many football fans could not understand how Ribery was representing France with a under-age sex inquiry looming over his head. This could have been just one of the many reasons for the downfall of France during the World Cup.