Article body analysed
By TUM BALOGUN Published: 01: 46 AEDT, 20 December 2024 | Updated: 04: 11 AEDT, 20 December 2024 5 View comments Paul Pogba's brother has been sentenced to three years in prison, two of which will be suspended, after being found guilty in an extortion case that targeted the Frenchman. Mathias Pogba will be able to serve his one-year sentence with an electronic bracelet rather than behind bars. The ruling was handed down on Thursday afternoon in a Paris court. In additional to the 35-year-old, five other men were found guilty in the case and received custodial sentences ranging from four to eight years. In March 2022, Pogba - who is set for a return to football after his four-year ban for a doping offence was reduced - filed a complaint after he was kidnapped and robbed by two unidentified masked and armed men, who demanded €13m (£10. 98m) for 'protection services'. Five people close to the World Cup winner were said to have 'meticulously prepared' a meeting which ended with Pogba being kidnapped. After the original threat, the group were said to repeatedly intimidate Pogba and claim that he didn't support them after becoming an international star in order to get him to pay, as per Le Parisien. Mathias Pogba has been found guilty in an extortion case that targeted his brother Paul Five people close to the World Cup winner were said to have 'meticulously prepared' a meeting which ended with Pogba being kidnapped The World Cup winner, who is eyeing a return to football after his doping ban was reduced, revealed he had paid €100, 000 (£84, 423) to the organised group Mathias was said to be absent from the alleged kidnapping plot. He spent three months in prison between September and December 2022 as police investigated his role. Reports in the French media then also revealed how Pogba told investigators that the alleged extortionists were attempting to discredit him by making a series of claims. This included Mathias claiming Pogba had hired a witch doctor to put a spell on his France team-mate Kylian Mbappe, while he also accused him of having 'abandoned' his family. Pogba denied the claims. During the investigation, the 31-year-old also revealed he had paid €100, 000 (£84, 423) to the organised group. And, after two years of investigations, the Paris prosecutor's office confirmed that Mathias Pogba and the five men would stand trial. Mathias - a former footballer who represented the likes of Crawley, Crewe and Wrexham - was found guilty of 'organised extortion and attempted extortion'. In addition to the prison time, he had been ordered to pay a €20, 000 (£16, 500). The defendants were tried for a week at the Paris Court. The charge of kidnapping was not retained at the end of the trial. According to L'Equipe, Mathias's lawyer has indicated that his client will appeal the decision. Published by Associated Newspapers Ltd Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group