Friday, September 10, 2021 at 5:02 PM• Yanick Vos • Last update: 17:19

Benjamin Mendy remains in jail for the time being on suspicion of rape and assault. During a hearing on Friday afternoon, it was announced that his trial is due on January 24, 2022 in Chester Court. On November 15, Mendy will appear in court again at a hearing when he will give his plea. At least until then, the Frenchman will remain in custody.

The trial is expected to take two to three weeks in January. At the end of last month, Mendy’s request to be released on bail was rejected. The French defender is charged with four rapes and one case of sexual assault between October 2020 and August 2021. The charges come from three different victims over the age of 16.

Mendy is suspected of committing the offenses with a man from Manchester: Louis Saha Matturie, not to be confused with former Manchester United striker Louis Saha. He too will remain in custody until January next year anyway. Like Mendy, he is suspected of four rapes and one sexual assault.

Manchester City announced in August that Mendy has been provisionally suspended pending the police investigation. The wing defender arrived at the court in a white police van on Friday afternoon, although he was not allowed to tell his story there yet. He will be allowed to tell his side of the story in court in mid-November. During Friday’s 45-minute hearing, Mendy spoke only to confirm his name.

Mendy has been under contract with since the summer of 2017 the Citizens. Partly due to injuries, he did not get further than fifty Premier League matches in four seasons. This season Mendy played with City in the battle for the Community Shield. The match against Leicester City was lost 1-0. In the first round of the Premier League he started from the starting line against Tottenham Hotspur (1-0 defeat).