OLYMPIACOS star Youssef El-Arabi has been handed a three-year prison sentence for his part in beating up two teenage boys.
The Morocco international, 34, has helped his side win the last two Greek league titles.
Striker El-Arabi has scored in his club’s last three Europa League clashes with Arsenal, including their 1-0 win at the Emirates in March.
But the former Caen and Granada ace must now serve a minimum 12 months in jail after a French judge found him guilty of assault.
The court at Montpellier sentenced El-Arabi in his absence last week with the player on Greek Cup final duty with Olympiacos.
However the 49-cap international’s two brothers and his brother-in law appeared at the hearing.
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All four received three-year jail terms, with 24 months suspended. They were fined a total of £5,500 and ordered to pay their victims £12,000 compensation.
The trial heard two boys of 13 and 16 threw a bottle at El-Arabi’s family as they celebrated the end of Ramadan on a garden patio in June 2017.
The jury was told the player and his three male relatives chased and beat the youngsters, leaving one with a damaged eye.
The teenagers were then reportedly forced to clear up the broken glass, sworn at and humiliated.
One witness told the court: “I saw the boys curled up on the ground to protect themselves against being hit.”
El-Arabi is said to have told police: “I gave one of them a slap to calm him down.”
His brothers told the hearing they had not caused the boys any bruising or bloodshed.
The El-Arabis’ lawyer Christian Dumont said: “They were annoyed. They couldn’t understand why their victims had acted this way.
“They feared one of their children might be hit in the face by a bottle, and thought they had come under attack.”
The quartet could yet appeal to have their prison stays commuted to community service.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
