The French international, AC Milan player, was searched by Italian police as part of an investigation into a shooting.
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The video made the rounds on social networks in Italy. Football player Tiémoué Bakayoko, hired by AC Milan, was briefly arrested and searched by local police. The images, relayed in particular by the Italian journalist Tancredi Palmeri on Monday July 18, show the French environment being searched, while the other people in his vehicle seem to be targeted by the police.
Shocking footage of Milan’s Bakayoko in Milan’s downtown held at gunpoint by police cause taken for someone else.
Check when one of cop goes telling to the colleague searching him that it’s not the suspect but a Milan player, and the cop saying “WHO?!?”
pic.twitter.com/B0PTYiXnc5— Tancredi Palmeri (@tancredipalmeri) July 18, 2022
AC Milan confirmed to Reuters news agency (article in English) that his player had indeed been searched. It was decided because of a shooting that took place nearby at the time of the events. The police did not specify the date on which the arrest took place. The main Italian media, like La Republica, Il Corriere della sera, or La Gazzetta dello sport refer for their part to July 3.
The Milan police explained themselves in a press release sent to Reuters. “The search took place in a context which justified the use of the highest security measures. (…) Once the person was identified and it was established that they were not involved, the service resumed without any remark from the person concerned.
The NGO Amnesty International also reacted via its Italian branch : “The images of Bakayoko’s arrest are reminiscent of racial profiling. A discriminatory practice that could have had serious consequences for an unknown person.” The player has, Monday evening, still not reacted publicly to these facts.