Swedish authority closes rape investigation against Kylian Mbappé

The Swedish Prosecution Authority announced today that the inquiry into rape allegations against French footballer Kylian Mbappé has been closed due to a lack of sufficient evidence to proceed.

The 25-year-old French star, one of the highest-profile players in world football, visited the Swedish capital October 9-11 with a group of people after he was not selected by his country for a Nations League match.

Sweden’s prosecution authority announced on October 15 that it was investigating an alleged incident that occurred at an upscale Stockholm hotel on October 10, without mentioning the suspect by name.

However several Swedish media outlets, including newspapers Aftonbladet and Expressen and public broadcaster SVT, identified Mbappe as the suspect.

The allegations had drawn international attention, casting a shadow over the football star’s career.

Mbappé, who has consistently denied the allegations, has yet to make an official statement regarding the decision.

His legal team had previously emphasised his commitment to due process.

“The investigation into a suspected rape and two cases of sexual assault at a hotel in central Stockholm on October 10 2024 is closed. The reason is evidence problems”, wrote the investigation authority on their website.

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“During the course of the investigation, there has been a designated person suspected on reasonable grounds of rape and two cases of sexual assault, but my assessment is that the evidence is not sufficient to proceed and the investigation is therefore closed.

“The designated person has not been notified of suspicion of a crime”, says Senior Prosecutor Marina Chirakova, who has been the head of the investigation.

AFP reported that Mbappé was “linked to a rape investigation in Sweden” and that he intended to reserve any explanations for the Swedish justice system “if necessary,” according to his lawyer, Marie-Alix Canu-Bernard.

“He prioritises providing his explanations, if required, to the Swedish judiciary,” Canu-Bernard told AFP, while strongly condemning “media allegations suggesting that Kylian Mbappé had commented on the events of his trip to Stockholm.”

The case, which began earlier this year, involved accusations stemming from an alleged incident in Stockholm. The prosecutor’s decision not to press charges marks the end of months of scrutiny and speculation.

In an interview that aired Sunday on French TV station Canal Plus, Mbappé said he was “surprised” by the reports that he was the subject of a rape investigation and he had not been contacted by Swedish authorities.

“These are things that come into your life like that, you can’t see them coming,” Mbappé told Canal Plus.

“It’s just incomprehension. I don’t think it weighed on me in the sense that I have never considered myself involved,” he added.

AFP/ABC News