Pogba brother released from prison in blackmail case – media
France and Juventus star Paul Pogba’s older brother Mathias has been released from prison, his lawyer said on Friday.
Mathias, an ex-professional footballer, was arrested in September as one of five suspects for extortion in an organized gang.
Police acted after Paul Pogba filed a complaint with the Prosecutor’s Office in Turin for alleged extortion attempts between March and July 2022, when the men reportedly requested €13 million ($14 million) from the World Cup winner for protection services rendered.
Three months since he was put behind bars, Mathias Pogba has now been released and placed under judicial supervision after a request by his lawyer Yassine Bouzrou on December 15, as reported by Le Parisien.
After the request was accepted by investigating judges overseeing the case, Mathias left the Villepinte remand center in Seine-Saint Denis in northeastern Paris on Friday morning.
🔴 Mathias Pogba est sorti de prison ce vendredi. Son avocat Yassine Bouzrou confirme à BFMTV que son client a quitté la maison d'arrêt de Villepinte.https://t.co/FqD1jdz48Xpic.twitter.com/DpQPz1UHLO
— RMC Sport (@RMCsport) December 23, 2022
Mathias Pogba will not be allowed to contact others involved in the case such as his brother Paul or his mother, and will also be prohibited from leaving France or making posts on social media.
The row between the brothers became public when Matthias Pogba uploaded now infamous clips on social media in various languages threatening to make explosive revelations about Paul Pogba.
Mathias accused his brother of hiring the services of a west African witchdoctor known as a Marabout, with claims that he wanted to cast a spell on his France teammate Kylian Mbappe and see the Paris Saint-Germain star harmed.
Reports then stated that Pogba had admitted to using the Marabout but only to keep himself injury-free. If true, this proved unsuccessful as a knee injury suffered when rejoining Juventus from Manchester United this summer ruled the midfielder out of joining Les Bleus in Qatar 2022.
In Pogba’s absence, Didier Deschamps’ men reached the final where Mbappe scored a ha-trick but France were beaten 4-2 on penalties by Argentina.
Pogba regularly sent well wishes to his colleagues in Qatar and was seen in attendance to watch at the final at Lusail Stadium.
But when he can return to action for Juventus is up in the air following recent comments from manager Max Allegri.
“Paul still hasn’t been consistent in training, so I cannot say when he’ll be back,” Allegri told Sky Sport Italia.
“This is the truth and it’s important to say that, otherwise every day we’ll get these questions on how Pogba’s recovery is going. He hasn’t yet started running in training.”
