Hosted by award-winning comedian Maisie Adam, the popular 5 Live podcast, Sports Strangest Crimes returns to BBC Sounds on Wednesday 12 June.
The new series titled Sport’s Strangest Crimes: A French Football Scandal, tells the story of two team mates at one of the biggest football clubs in the world, Paris Saint-Germain, becoming the bitterest of enemies following a vicious assault that rocked the club to its foundations and left lives, careers and reputations in ruins.
With exclusive access to those at the heart of the story, this gripping 8-part series gives listeners the chance to play judge and jury as they hear all sides of the story – from the attack, to the accusations, evidence of the prosecution against the protestations, as well as the arguments for the defence.
The podcast begins in the summer of 2021, when French women’s football star Kheira Hamraoui joined Paris Saint-Germain to compete for a place in midfield with friend and holidaying-partner Aminata Diallo. Fast-forward to November, and as Hamraoui leaves Diallo’s car following a team night out, she is violently attacked by masked men with iron bars, who specifically targeted her legs, leaving her bloody, battered and unable to play football for months to come.
Diallo, unharmed on the night, takes Hamraoui’s place in the PSG side and stars in a 4-0 victory over Real Madrid. However, the following morning she is sensationally arrested on suspicion of masterminding the attack. Days later Diallo is released but for Hamraoui the nightmare only escalates as fans and team mates turn against her.
Over the next nine months the police secretly monitor Diallo’s phone calls and conversations, and through wiretaps capture some explosive revelations that will lead to her re-arrest, leaving more lives in turmoil, with even the French national team caught up in the scandal.
Talking about the podcast, Maisie Adam says: “As a big football fan myself, this was huge news that sent shockwaves through the industry and I have been following it ever since. I have really enjoyed hosting the podcast and have learnt so much more that I didn’t know about the case. It’s an extraordinary story of jealousy, deception and violence that still continues to grip the French public in 2024. As the series develops, we hear many fascinating twists and turns and I can’t wait for listeners to come along with me and discover it for themselves”
The first four episodes of Sports Strangest Crimes: A French Football Scandal will be available on BBC Sounds from 12 June, 2024, followed by the next four episodes on 19 June 2024.
MCL/AG