French Footballers Franck Ribery and Karim Benzema Begin ‘Underage Prostitute’ Trial

Two French footballers are due to go on trial in Paris accused of paying for sex with an underage prostitute.

Bayern Munich's Franck Ribery and Real Madrid's Karim Benzema both deny the allegations of paying to have sex with Zahia Dehar, who was then 16, for sex in 2008 and 2009.

Under French law, paying to have sex with someone under the age of 18 is considered sex with a minor and punishable by three years in prison and a €45,000 (£38,000) fine.

Dehar, now 21, has become a household name in France since the investigation broke. She has launched her own fashion label and worked with designer Karl Lagerfield.

Six other men have been charged in the investigation, which broke during the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Ribery has admitted to having sex with her in Munich in 2009, when she was just 17, after flying her from Paris to Germany. But he claims he not realise she was underage.

Benzema has denied any involvement with the Algeria-born Dehar. However she claims the Real Madrid striker paid €500 to have sex with her in a Paris hotel in 2006, when she was 16.

Dehar told French authorities she had been a prostitute since the age of 15 or 16 but would tell clients she was 18.

Ribery's lawyer, Carlo-Alberto Brusa, said his client was innocent and should not be expected to show up in court.

"In French law, it's not forbidden to make love to a woman and even to pay her for it, what is forbidden is to do it with a minor," he told Reuters.

"When a woman travels around Europe by plane, can you imagine thinking for one second that she's a minor?"

Investigators have argued that, at the time, Dehar looked so young the footballers must have known she was underage.

The trial is expected to last until 26 June.