In brief
Mathias Pogba, the elder brother of former Manchester United player Paul Pogba, has been handed a three-year prison sentence, with two years suspended, for attempting to extort his sibling of €13 million.
Mathias Pogba, aged 32, was convicted in a Paris court and ordered to pay a fine of €20,000. However, he will not serve time in prison but will wear an electronic monitoring device for a year. The court found him guilty of extortion along with five accomplices, who received sentences ranging from four to eight years for their roles in the scheme. Paul Pogba, 31, had reported that he was held at gunpoint by childhood friends demanding the massive sum, and he admitted to paying them €100,000 before going to the authorities.Mathias Pogba's defense lawyer, Mbeko Tabula, condemned the ruling as "extremely harsh," signaling plans to appeal the decision. Other defendants included Roushdane K, sentenced to eight years, Boubacar C who received four years with two suspended, and others handed varying sentences. Reflecting on the ordeal, Paul Pogba previously revealed to Al Jazeera that he contemplated retiring from football due to stress from the extortion attempt, stating, "Money changes people. It can break up a family. It can create a war.”
