French Soccer Player Arrested After Violent Attack on Paris Saint-Germain Teammate

In a statement, the French soccer team condemned the violence against one of the team's players, who they did not name but has been reported to be Kheira Hamraoui

Animata Diallo Animata Diallo
Diallo. Photo: Aurelien Meunier/PSG via Getty

Aminata Diallo, a French soccer player for Paris Saint-Germain, has been arrested in connection with the attack of a teammate, the soccer club said in a statement issued Wednesday.

Diallo, 26, was taken into police custody on Wednesday morning as part of an investigation into a Nov. 4 assault on one of the team's other players by two masked attackers.

In the statement — translated from French to English — Paris Saint-Germain said the team "strongly condemns the violence committed."

Though Paris Saint-Germain did not name the player, ESPN reported that the teammate attacked was Kheira Hamraoui, 31. Sources told the outlet that Hamraoui was riding in Diallo's car with other teammates after leaving a team dinner in Paris last week. When the car was in front of Diallo's home, two masked men dragged Hamraoui out of the car and began hitting her legs with iron bars.

French outlet L'Equipe shared similar details of the assault, noting it lasted several minutes before the attackers escaped.

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Sources told ESPN that Hamraoui was taken to the hospital following the attack where she received stitches. Luckily, the outlet reported, sources said the injuries were not career-threatening.

Hamraoui, however, was unable to play in Paris Saint-Germain's Champions League game against Real Madrid on Tuesday, which the team won 4-0. NBC News reported that Diallo replaced Hamraoui in the game before her arrest Wednesday morning.

ESPN noted that both athletes play the same position — defensive midfielders — and compete for spots both on Paris Saint-Germain, and the French women's national team.

The team did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment on behalf of the players, though it was late evening in France when contacted.

The incident has, of course, sparked comparisons to the infamous attack on American figure skater Nancy Kerrigan in 1994. A man later identified as Shane Stant struck Kerrigan in the knee with a baton after she walked off the ice in January of that year during practice for the U.S. Figure Skating Championships.

The attack was arranged by Kerrigan's rival Tonya Harding's ex-husband, Jeff Gillooly, along with Brian Sean Griffith (then named Shawn Eckardt) and his friend Derrick Smith, who drove the getaway car. Harding was not charged in the attack, itself, but pleaded guilty to conspiring to hinder the prosecution of those responsible. Gillooly, who since changed his last name to Stone, has claimed Harding knew about the attack while Harding has maintained she was unaware of the plot.

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