Former Ivory Coast international Abdoulaye Traoré sentenced for rape
Former Ivory Coast international Abdoulaye Traoré has been sentenced to three years in prison for rape. The 1992 Africa Cup of Nations winner was convicted on Thursday by an Ivorian court, which also imposed a fine of 15 million CFA francs (approximately 23,000 euros) to be paid to the victim, a ten-year deprivation of his civic rights, and a five-year ban from entering the city of Bouaké.
According to a judicial source cited by Agence France-Presse, the former striker was found guilty of having non-consensual sexual relations with a 21-year-old woman in March 2021, when he was 54 years old. The court delivered its verdict after hearing the case, which has drawn significant attention in the West African nation.
Traoré enjoyed a prominent playing career primarily in France during the late 1980s and 1990s. He played for several French clubs including FC Metz, SC Sète, SC Toulon, and AC Avignon. He earned 49 caps for the Ivory Coast national team, scoring 29 goals, and was a key member of the Elephants side that won the country's first continental title in 1992.
The Ivorian League for Women's Rights issued a statement welcoming the verdict, calling it "an important step forward in the fight against impunity for sexual and sexist violence." The case had been closely monitored by local advocacy groups who viewed it as a test of the judicial system's handling of sexual assault allegations against public figures.
The sentence concludes a legal process that began with the filing of a complaint by the victim. The details of the case, as reported by local media, involve an incident in the central Ivorian city where the assault was alleged to have taken place. Traoré's defense and any potential appeals process were not detailed in the initial reports of the sentencing.
