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Former Southampton and Fulham midfielder Mario Lemina has courted controversy after posting a picture of Benjamin Mendy on his Instagram story.
On Tuesday, it was confirmed Mendy had been charged with a further two counts of rape by Cheshire Police.
He had previously been accused of four counts of rape, as well as a sexual assault.
The 27-year-old was refused bail three times and has been kept at Category B prison HMP Altcourse in Liverpool.
But Lemina has caused a huge stir after uploading an image of Mendy, accompanied with four strong emojis as he showed public support for the Manchester City defender.
Ex-Saints midfielder Mario Lemina has posted a story on his Instagram in support of Benjamin Mendy.
— Footy Accumulators (@FootyAccums) November 17, 2021
[IG: lemsm13] pic.twitter.com/6apsEmO33c
OGC Nice midfielder Mario Lemina perhaps surprisingly public yesterday on Instagram in his support of Manchester City left-back Benjamin Mendy, after the latter was charged with another 2 counts of rape. pic.twitter.com/6sSrw1z9Xn
— Get French Football News (@GFFN) November 17, 2021
Look, most of the issues I had with Lemina are on the pitch when he played for us. But an apparent show of public support on his Instagram story for a man charged with 6 counts of rape is ill-advised at best, and at worst, utterly disgusting. pic.twitter.com/yl30kN1c6G
— Mark 🇮🇩😇 (@ftbl_mark) November 17, 2021
The post from the former Juventus man was posted on 16 November and has not been taken down at the time of writing.
Mendy was suspended by City in August pending an investigation and neither Pep Guardiola or his players have commented on the ongoing situation.
Mendy is accused of committing the offences between October 2020 and August this year, with the complainants four different women over the age of 16.
He is yet to enter any official pleas for the charges 40-year-old, Louis Saha Matturie, from Eccles, has also been charged with two additional counts of rape and one count of sexual assault.
Mendy and Matturie are scheduled to appear at Stockport Magistrates’ Court on November 17.
The player signed for City in a £52 million move from Monaco in 2017 and has played 75 times - his last appearance coming against Spurs on the opening day of the new Premier League season.
Featured Image Credit: Image: PA & Instagram
Topics: Juventus, Southampton, Benjamin Mendy, Premier League