Former Liverpool star slapped with suspended prison sentence after failing to pay child support
Former Liverpool star El Hadji Diouf has been handed a suspended prison sentence after failing to pay nearly £14,000 in child support.
The retired Senegalese striker was sued by his ex-wife, Valerie Bishop, last year and dragged to court over the missing payments.
Diouf, 45, has been given a one-year suspended jail term and ordered to pay his ex 10 million West African francs (£13,220).
Valerie was given custody of the couple's daughter, Keyla, now 17, when they divorced in 2023.
The veteran Premier League striker was then told to pay her £670 a month in child support, as well as cover her school fees and medical bills.
But Valerie accused the former forward of failing to cough up since March 2024.
Senegal's legal code has tough punishments for breaches of family law, including Article 351, which specifies jail terms for refusal to pay maintenance.
Valerie's lawyers, Baboucar Cisse and Cheikh Sy, told the court Diouf had sufficient wealth to meet his obligations with earnings from advertising, property and work for Senegal's FA.
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Fellow legal advisor Mame Adama Gueye told last November's trial: "Diouf is fully solvent. He has the means to pay, but refuses to do so."
The case had dragged on, with Diouf failing to appear at several hearings before being sentenced in his absence.
Dakar-born Diouf figured in a series of controversies after joining Liverpool from French club Lens for £10million in 2002.
He managed just three goals in 55 Premier League games, making 80 Reds appearances in all.
The striker went on to play for Bolton, Sunderland, Blackburn, Rangers, Doncaster and Leeds before ending his career with Malaysian club Sabah.
He cemented his status as a Senegalese hero with his 2002 World Cup heroics, where the African nation reached the quarter-finals and beat holders France 1-0 in the group stage.
Diouf scooped up two African Player of the Year Awards in 2001 and 2002 and was named in Pele's FIFA 100 list of the greatest living players in 2004.
In England, the striker was renowned as a pantomime villain and sported an eccentric blond mohawk during his Blackburn days.
His career was sometimes overshadowed by his off-the-field antics and clashes with referees.
Diouf was fined £5,000 by the Glasgow Sheriff Court for spitting at a Celtic fan during a Uefa Cup game.
In 2004, he was banned for three matches after being found guilty of spitting at Portsmouth defender Arjan de Zeeuw and admitting to improper conduct.
Bolton also fined the striker the maximum two weeks wages.
Diouf later apologised, saying: "My behaviour showed a lack of moral responsibility to the public who support me and I'm deeply sorry."
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