Belo Horizonte (Brazil) (AFP)
Earvin Ngapeth, star of the French volleyball team, was arrested Monday in Belo Horizonte (southern Brazil), accused of sexual harassment against a woman whose slapping his buttocks, said local police.
According to the complaint, Ngapeth, 28, spanked a 29-year-old woman in a theater. The woman was accompanied by her companion and a friend. She responded by striking the player's arm and called the police, who then transferred the volleyball player and the complainant to a police station.
The player defended himself by explaining that "in France, it is common, especially during volleyball matches, to indiscrete tapes on the buttocks, whether men or women," explained to the AFP the press office of the police.
According to the police, Ngapeth also said "that in France touching the buttocks of a woman is neither an assault nor an offense, and explained that he had confused the victim with an acquaintance."
According to Brazilian media, Ngapeth is waiting for a judge's decision whether to keep him in jail, while in Brazil, bail does not exist for complaints of sexual harassment.
Earvin Ngapeth is one of the leaders of the French volleyball team. He was last week in Betim, on the outskirts of Belo Horizonte for the World Club with Zenit Kazan, one of the best teams in the world, taking third place in the competition. The Russian club must play a Champions League game on Wednesday in Belgium in Maaseik.
© 2019 AFP